If you’re the type who likes the smell of hay, the sound of hooves, and the faint taste of risk on the ocean breeze, you’ll find Del Mar’s gates wide open for the next 30 days. The sunshine is plentiful, the odds are long, and the stories are worth retelling. Because, as one old tout by the paddock rail tells me between drags on his cigar:
“At Del Mar the horses run fast—but the rumors, pal, they run faster.”
As the fog lifts off the ocean and the gents in checked suits start checking their pockets, Del Mar once again hangs out its “Open for Business” sign for what they call the Bing Crosby Season, named for the crooner who started this seaside circus in the first place. It is the twelfth such fall fandango, and by the sound of it, the action figures to be as lively as a dice game in a back alley on a Saturday night.
Now, I am told the big talk among the regulars—guys with cigar ashes on their ties and lucky numbers in their wallets—is that the Pick 6 is moving up to a $2 minimum. This means a fellow has to dig a little deeper in his pockets to play, which in this town generally means the whiskey will taste better if he wins. The 80-20 split remains the same—house gets theirs, dreamers get the rest—but the wags say this will make for fatter carryovers, which is gambler’s poetry for “somebody’s gonna get rich, but not today.”
The Breeders’ Cup, that grand carnival of thoroughbred thunder, comes galloping back Oct. 31 and Nov. 1—back-to-back, for the first time in Del Mar’s history. The event brings with it fourteen Grade 1 races worth more than $34 million and the usual parade of silks, sequins, and second chances. The likes of Sovereignty, Journalism, Sierra Leone, Fierceness, and Forever Young are rumored to be reporting for duty, each one prancing in like they own the joint.
“There’s tremendous value for horseplayers,” says Bill Navarro, who runs the mutuels and talks like a man who’s seen more tickets torn up than most folks see sunsets. “We’re keeping things strong for the customers.”
Translation: step right up, the house is open, and the tote board is hungry.
THE SCENE, THE CHARACTERS, THE ACTION
Around town, the Breeders’ Cup Festival kicks off Oct. 27. You got breakfast with the horses at Daybreak at Del Mar, where a guy can sip coffee, eat eggs, and pretend he knows what a furlong is. There’s the Rood & Riddle Post Position Draw, where the public can watch rich folks sweat the luck of the draw. Later, there’s the Night of Faith, Hope & Love, which sounds like a prayer meeting but probably still ends with somebody checking the morning line.
Opening Day, Oct. 30, brings the Let It Ride Stakes—a name that sounds like it was stolen from a guy named Joey the Tip—and even a Horse Racing Women’s Summit, where the sharpest hats in the county will also be the sharpest handicappers.
Ways to Lighten the Wallet
There are more ways to lose your shirt at Del Mar than there are buttons on it:
$2 Win, Place & Show (every race)
$1 Exacta & $2 Quinella
50-cent Trifecta & 10-cent Superfecta
$3 Late Pick 3, $5 Late Double, 50-cent Pick 4s
And the new $2 Pick 6, the Holy Grail of heartbreak
High-rollers can ante into the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge—$10 grand a seat, $7,500 bankroll, $2,500 to the pool—where somebody walks away smiling while everybody else walks to the bar.
The After-Hours Parade
Del Mar Paddock/File
If you prefer your losses with a chaser, there’s Bash at the Breeders’ Cup on Halloween night at the Hilton Del Mar ($250 ahead, $300 if you hesitate), and The Mane Event, a speakeasy soirée Nov. 1 at Rancho Valencia Resort—$325 for the privilege of telling strangers you had a winner in the third.
Then come the locals’ favorites:
BBQ, Bourbon & Beer (Nov. 22),
College Day (Nov. 8),
Uncorked Wine Festival (Nov. 15),
Family Fun Day (Nov. 28),
and the FanDuel Racing Turf Festival closing weekend.
Mandatory payouts hit Nov. 30, the final day—when the house must finally cough up and the regulars lean into the breeze thinking maybe, just maybe, this is their day.
AFTER THE CUP
The ponies keep pounding Fridays through Sundays until the end of November, with BBQ, bourbon, and beer festivals, college days, wine tastings, and charity drives. It all winds up Nov. 30 with mandatory payouts, a phrase that gives horseplayers the same tingle other folks get from Christmas morning.
So if you’re the type who likes the smell of hay, the sound of hooves, and the faint taste of risk on the ocean breeze, Del Mar’s the place. You’ll find the sunshine plentiful, the odds long, and the stories worth telling.
Because at Del Mar, as one of the old timers likes to say, the horses run fast, but the rumors run faster.
Del Mar Thoroughbred Club could be the answer to year-round racing for the California racing indusry/Ben Sever
Del Mar Bing Crosby Season: Who, What, Where, When, Why
“A place where a man may lose his shirt and his heart, but never his nerve to bet again.”
Who:
Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, the house Bing Crosby built. Bill Navarro runs the mutuels. Drew Fleming brings back the Breeders’ Cup. Horses like Sovereignty, Journalism, Sierra Leone, Fierceness, and Forever Young headline the card.
What:
The 12th Bing Crosby fall meet, featuring a new $2 Pick 6 and the Breeders’ Cup World Championships with $34 million in purses.
Where:
Del Mar Racetrack — where the turf meets the surf just north of San Diego.
When:
Oct. 30 through Nov. 30. Breeders’ Cup runs Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
Why:
Because at Del Mar, hope is always on the next ticket and Bing’s ghost still hums from the clubhouse bar.
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Dates: Oct. 30-Nov. 30
Location: Via de la Valle and Jimmy Durante Boulevard
Post time: 12:30 p.m.; special post times-11:35 a.m. Breeders’ Cup Friday (Oct. 31), 10:05 a.m. Breeders’ Cup Saturday (Nov. 1)
General Admission: Daily-$8, Diamond Club-$4; free for 17 and younger and active duty/retired military personnel; Breeders’ Cup (Oct. 31-Nov. 1): Pre-purchased tickets only, breederscup.com
Parking: General-$10, Valet-$25; Breeders’ Cup (Oct. 31-Nov. 1): Pre-purchased passes only
Information: (858) 755-1141, dmtc.com
Breeders’ Cup World Championships:
Del Mar is hosting the prestigious Breeders’ Cup on Friday, October 31, and Saturday, November 1.
Feature race: The Let It Ride Stakes was held on opening day, October 30.
Special events: The season includes other events, such as the Uncorked: Derby Days Wine Festival on November 15.
Full schedule: The complete racing and stakes schedule can be found on the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club’s official website.
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