NEWS
Del Mar opens to record crowd of 45,309
Posted: Thursday, July 22, 2010 10:12 AM
TWIRLING CANDY
Benoit & Associates photo
by Steve Schuelein
There was a smile on 45,309 faces and a winner (or two, in the case of a dead heat in the seventh race) in all 10 races, as the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club opened its 71st season Wednesday.
Nobody wore a wider smile than track President Joe Harper after 45,309 fans jammed the premises of the coastal track to better the record of 44,907 set opening day last year.
“I was happy with it,” understated Harper. “A ton of people came out. And the ambulance didn’t come out. The track was safe.”
As significant a number as the attendance figure, equally important was the zero fatalities—or even injuries—for the 82 starters, including 57 on the synthetic Polytrack surface. Twelve horses were euthanized on Polytrack during a 37-day session last year.
Harper credited the work of first-year superintendent Rich Tedesco in creating a safe and fair main track.
“I’m very impressed with Rich,” said Harper. “I’ve been with him in the morning and seen the way he handles the crew and the type of equipment he uses. The [winning] times were about what they should be.”
Trainer reaction to the surface was largely good to excellent.
“It’s great,” said Barry Abrams. “It’s never been better.”
“It’s a little demanding, heavy, but they’ll get it okay,” said Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, the track’s all-time leader in stakes wins who saddled a dead heat winner on opening day.
The weather was unseasonably cool and cloudy and the surprising San Diego Padres were perched in first place in the National League Western Division, but opening day at Del Mar continued to be a predictable draw.
“The cloudy weather didn’t seem to dampen anybody’s enthusiasm,” said Harper. “It gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.”
Total handle declined 4.3% from $13,205,040 last year to $12,637,828 this year. Neither Belmont Park nor Monmouth Park offered live racing on Wednesday, and decreased crowds there may have contributed to a drop in simulcast handle.
On track, though, a mostly young and energetic crowd let out a traditional roar as the field for the first race broke from the gate in front of the grandstand.
Shea Mitchell, daughter of trainer Mike Mitchell, sang the national anthem before the daily recording of Bing Crosby’s “Where the Turf Meets the Surf.”
With hats almost as big an order of the day as horses, it was nearly impossible not to be poked in the eye with a brim or stepped on by a six-inch heel.
Some of the themes in the annual One and Only Truly Fabulous Hats Contest were so large that wearers looked as though they needed a neck brace. Judges announced four divisional winners—Frank Holtz, Rosalyn Sidewater, Fay Meitz and Katy Stockinger—who received accolades in the winner’s circle.
The featured $112,500 Oceanside Stakes for three-year-olds on turf produced a budding star in Twirling Candy, who remained unbeaten in three starts while scoring an emotional victory for owner-breeder Jenny Craig of Del Mar.
“This is especially meaningful because today is the second anniversary of Sid’s death: he died on July 21,” said Jenny of her late husband, who introduced her to the sport. “He helped us win.”
Professional football stars abounded among the celebrities present. San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawn Merriman and defensive back Quentin Jammer presented the Oceanside trophy. In an earlier race, quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers and Oakland Raiders quarterback Kyle Boller and his wife—former Miss California Carrie Prejean—presented the winners. Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman also was on hand.
Fans of retired superstar Lava Man rooted his three-year-old half sister, Lava Girl, to a dead-heat victory in her debut in a $50,000 maiden special weight race.
Steve Schuelein is a Southern California correspondent of Thoroughbred Times
READER COMMENTS
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Posted by: Larry, Cardiff, CA on July 25, 2010 at 07:25 PM
Excellent article. Makes me feel like I was there. Hats off to Steve.
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