Del Mar Racetrack celebrates 70 seasons of glamour

On July 22, the gates of the Del Mar Racetrack will fly open, and the earth will be turned underfoot in a frenzied meeting of the well-bred. And there’ll be some horse racing, too.

Opening day at Del Mar is one of the most eagerly anticipated social events of the year, a rollicking, flashy pageant of big hats and even bigger assets (interpret that as you will). The track’s Hollywood legacy — it was established by Bing Crosby and friends in 1937 — still breathes an air of glamour and allure into the iconic seaside hot spot.

No one understands — or appreciates — that legacy better than Joe Harper, the director, president, general manager and CEO of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. Grandson of famed film producer and director Cecil B. DeMille, Harper considered a career in the film industry (as a cinematographer) but landed at the Del Mar track in 1966 as a photographer and, 11 years later, started his climb up the ranks as a full-time track employee. Turns out the career leap wasn’t that dramatic.

“We’ve always looked at this place as being in the entertainment business,” says Harper. “It sets us apart from other tracks that are seeing a decline.” From the outset, Crosby drew on his fame and celebrity connections to establish a racetrack venue unlike any other.

“Bob Hope once told me, ‘The reason I came to Del Mar was because Bing asked me to come — and when Bing asks, you do it,’ ” says Harper. By 1940, Del Mar was known as a playground for the big stars of the time: Dorothy Lamour, W.C. Fields, Paulette Goddard, Edgar Bergen, June Haver, Ann Miller, Don Ameche, Ava Gardner, Red Skelton and Pat O’Brien (who was one of Crosby’s partners in the track).

Del Mar made some stars on the track, too, in those early years. In 1938, the famed Seabiscuit-Ligaroti matchup drew 20,000 to the racetrack. A national radio audience also followed the nail-biter race in which Seabiscuit edged out Ligaroti by a nose.

The racing and revelry came to a screeching halt in 1942, as the United States entered World War II. During the “dark” years - until the war’s end in 1945 - the track grounds were used by the Marines for training and, later, for manufacturing B-17 bomber parts. When President Truman declared August 15, 1945, a national holiday, some 20,000 headed to Del Mar that day and bet a then-record $958,476.

Attendance figures continued to balloon, thanks in large part to the introduction of  “racetrack special” train service between Los Angeles and San Diego in 1947. “San Diego didn’t have a developed market area for the track,” says Harper. “It relied on the Los Angeles crowd. If the train was late, they wouldn’t start the races. We still rely heavily on the Los Angeles and Orange County markets.” Among the new L.A.-based crowd of bettors was a new generation of celebrities, including Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Betty Grable, George Jessel, Mickey Rooney and Jimmy Durante, who became such a track fixture that the turf course was named after him, as was a nearby boulevard.

Throughout the ’50s, the track continued to break attendance records and, in 1953, presented its richest stakes schedule with 10 events worth $130,000. That season, rider Willie Shoemaker — a name indelibly tied to the track’s history — won half of the races; the following season, he won 94 races during the meet’s 41-day run.

A major track highlight came in 1960, when a new seven-eighths-mile turf course was unveiled. Harper points to another big boon that came later in the same decade.

“The most positive thing that ever happened to this racetrack was the 1969 agreement between the state of California - the owner of the facility - and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, which runs it,” he says. “That really set the tone for the success of the racetrack; it put the profits right back into the track” for ground maintenance and improvements such as the $80 million grandstand reconstruction in 1993 and $9 million polytrack surface installed in 2007. “That agreement turned what could have been a country fair meet into one of the best - if not the best - meets in the country.”

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (or DMTC), which comprises horse owners, breeders and other members of the community, was initially granted a 20-year lease to run the Del Mar meet. DMTC was granted a subsequent 20-year lease, which Harper anticipates will be renewed again in December.

In May, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a proposal to sell a number of state assets, among them the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Del Mar Racetrack, to help remedy the state’s fiscal crisis. Harper isn’t concerned. “It would be very strange if they sold Del Mar,” he says. “It’s a great asset to the state, one of the best investments they’ve got.”

In 1977, 40 YEARS after Bing Crosby greeted the first fan at the gate for Del Mar’s inaugural opening day, he returned for his final visit. He died later that year of a heart attack. Two years later, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club completed its first decade as operator of the track. That 1979 season drew an average attendance of 17,449 per day and a lucrative handle: $2,696,598 daily.

By 1989, the average daily handle skyrocketed to $7,320,623, and Del Mar was the leading track in the nation. In 1991, the track hosted its richest race ever - the $1 million Pacific Classic — and, with 37,000-plus attendees, became the country’s most-attended meet. For a full decade, 1990-2000, Del Mar and its satellites topped the nation’s tracks in average daily attendance. Purses reached all-time highs, and by 2005, the daily average handle was more than $14 million.

And there’s seemingly no end to the falling records. Last year’s opening day saw the biggest turnout in the racetrack’s history, with a crowd of 43,459. But while the party just keeps getting bigger, the Hollywood star wattage has dimmed since the track’s Bing-imbued glory days. Reality-TV stars (The Real Housewives of Orange County, The Bachelor) have replaced bona fide movie stars. Goodbye, Lucy and Desi; hello, Nick and Jessica.

Still, racing season is one rockin’ time. Music fans pack the track for the summer concert series, featuring the popular 4 O’Clock Friday shows and Saturday concerts in the infield. Some  big-name acts include the Flaming Lips, Ziggy Marley and Pinback.

New for this 37-day season, the track offers free admission and half-off food and drinks (including beer) during “Free and Easy Wednesdays.” Also new: The track now runs on a five-day schedule, with no Monday cards, and some races moved to other programs. (The only exception to the Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule is Monday, September 7, the Labor Day holiday.) Harper says it’s a measure the DMTC has taken to lessen the impact of the current economic situation.

“We’re moving some races from Monday so there will be better attendance,” he says. The track has scheduled some major races for the Labor Day weekend, including the Pacific Classic. “We’ll have the best racing in the country that weekend,” promises Harper. “It should be pretty exciting.”

Until then, he is gearing up for opening day, which he compares to another annual ritual. “Every year I go to the Oscars, but this is better,” Harper says. “We open the gates for one crazy party — it has a life all its own.”

Burl Stiff, the longtime society columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune, has reported from the Turf Club on opening day for the past 32 years. He’s seen a dramatic change since his early days covering the track.

“Compared to today, it was considerably more dignified back then,” Stiff says. “It’s always been a ritual, but it’s gotten to the point where a great many of the regular patrons skip opening day and go later in the season because of the general clamor and raciness. It’s sort of a carnival scene now, with a lot of extreme fashions - very bare, low-cut, short, frilly — just unsuitable for middle of the day, but that’s what it’s all about now.”

Stiff says “there are stories that ‘working girls’ are imported from Los Angeles. I have no idea if that’s true, but the impression is there - they’re garish.”

Still, tens of thousands will descend on Del Mar this July to be a part of a celebrated tradition spanning 70 seasons. And who knows, they might even catch some horse racing.

Julie Polloreno writes for San Diego Magazine, where this story was originally published.

Tags: Bing Crosby, Del Mar, Desi Arnez, horse races, Lucille Ball, racetrack, SDNN, Seabiscuit

This entry was posted on Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 12:40 pm and is filed under Arts & Entertainment, Lifestyle, Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.