Del Mar Racetrack lures younger crowds with live music

Crowd gathers for a concert at the racetrack. (Courtesy photo)

People dancing in bunny suits. Musicians smearing themselves with fake blood. Songs about pink robots. Del Mar Thoroughbred Club founder Bing Crosby would probably scratch his head in puzzlement between puffs on his trademark pipe trying to figure out The Flaming Lips. And now the fearless freaks of Oklahoma City are headlining this year’s Del Mar Racetrack concert calendar.

Almost a decade ago, racetracks all over the country faced a decision: evolve or experience the slow death of a shrinking demographic.

The racetrack in Del Mar, one of America’s classic tracks, has managed to reshape the perception of horse racing through clever ad campaigns giving the sport a classic retro appeal. Along with the shift in marketing strategies came a series of live concerts, free with admission to the track.

“Right around 2001, we rebranded Del Mar,” said Dado. “We realized that if we had any chance to grow our business, we were going to have to market to a younger audience. So we changed the way we advertised. We changed the way we handle our publicity. We changed just about everything. We went with our new slogan ‘Cool as Ever.’ We changed the types of events we do at the track, all trying to attract a younger crowd to Del Mar.”

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With the help of performances by Jack Johnson, Cake, and Ziggy Marley, the concerts (formerly called 4 O’Clock Fridays) have succeeded in bringing a younger demographic to the track. According to Dado, 16,000 people a day come to the races. Before the concerts, the percentile for the 18-34 demographic was in the low 20s. Now, the younger crowd accounts for more than 30 percent of the overall crowd.

“Since we’ve changed our branding, our attendance is up about 12.5 percent,” said Dado. “Most tracks are down double digits, so this has really been successful for us. We really think if we continued to do the same old thing and market to the same old audience, we’d be down double digits as well. We’ve really fought the trend here.”

While the younger crowd may not spend as much money as older folks, the racetrack improving its long-term prospects by creating interest in future big spenders.

“There’s a criticism in the horse racing industry that we’ve missed a generation of fans and that’s why racing is struggling,” said Dado. “Thirty years ago, racetracks weren’t marketing aggressively enough to a younger crowd. Given that we’re marketing to them now, we know that people who come to concerts aren’t going to bet hundreds and hundreds of dollars. We just want to expose people to our sport.”

Chris Nixon is SDNN’s music editor. You can reach him at chris.nixon(at)sdnn.com.

Tags: Cake, Craig Dado, Del Mar Racetrack, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Flaming Lips, Jakc Johnson, SDNN

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