COURSES
Del Mar runs all of its races left-handed. It has a one-mile oval with chutes for seven furlong and ten-furlong races. There is also a turf course that is a a seven-eighths mile oval with a diagonal straightaway chute for 8.5 furlong races and 9 furlong races.
As far as track trends go, it changes around but generally speaking the dirt races have a little bit of an outside flow, or perhaps more accurately, the rail is often not the place you want to be.
TRACK PROFILE
HISTORY
Following the successful launch of Santa Anita in 1934, California sportsman and businessman William A. Quigley pitched the idea for a north county San Diego racetrack to Hollywood crooner Bing Crosby. They founded the Del Mar Turf Club in 1936 and opened a year later, with Crosby himself at the gate to greet the fans.
It was a match race that helped cement Del Mar’s spot in the sporting landscape. On August 12, 1938, Del Mar hosted a $25,000 winner-take-all race between Charles S. Howard’s Seabiscuit and Crosby’s colt, Ligaroti. The race, in which the Biscuit prevailed by a nose, was run before a record crowd and made national news.
The track was closed during World War II and was used by the United States Marine Corps for training, and later as a production site for B-17 bomber parts.
Racing resumed after the war and the track continued to build its reputation as both the Saratoga of the west, and as a great place for movie and TV stars to vacation in the summer. Many of them decided to stay, at least part time. Notable celebrities to acquire property in the area in the ensuing decades include Pat O’Brien, Jimmy and Marge Durante, Lucy and Desi Arnaz, as well as Burt Bachrach and Angie Dickenson.
In early 2007, Del Mar became the second track in Southern California to install a synthetic surface. The experiment failed, and by 2014 plans were announced to return the main track to dirt.
THE PACIFIC CLASSIC
The Pacific Classic is the track’s signature race. It debuted in 1991 when it was won by one of the great California-breds of all-time, Best Pal. Other notable Pacific Classic winners include Bertrando, Free House, Candy Ride, Shared Belief, Beholder, and California Chrome.
In its early years, the race was a benefit for Bobby Frankel, who won it four of the first five times and seven overall, saddling two two-time winners in Tinners Way and Skimming.
Beholder’s win is one you for sure want to go back and watch. Richard Mandella’s champion filly absolutely dominated the boys in 2015, putting on quite a show.
The most famous Pac Classic of all-time was probably Dare and Go’s win in 1996, when he ended Cigar’s 16-race win streak with a little help from his stablemate, Siphon. That’s another that should be viewed.
There are six Grade 1 stakes throughout the year at Del Mar: The Bing Crosby, Clement L. Hirsch, Del Mar Debutante, Del Mar Futurity, Del Mar Oaks, and the aforementioned Pacific Classic.