1939
-- Roaming the Del Mar backstretch this year as neophyte trainers
and grooms are Charlie Whittingham, Noble Threewitt, Dale Landers
and Leonard Dorfman.
1940
-- Del Mar establishes itself as a playground for the stars. If
you attend the meet this summer you might find yourself bumping
into Dorothy Lamour, W. C. Fields, Paulette Goddard, Edgar Bergen,
June Haver, Ann Miller, Don Ameche, Ava Gardner, Red Skelton and,
of course, Bing Crosby and Pat O'Brien.
1941
-- Del Mar presents its longest meet to date--32 days--and draws
average crowds of just over 7,500 daily. Ferril Zufelt (48 wins)
is the top rider, F. S. Baker and Mozier Helm (13 wins each) are
the top trainers and the R. C. Stable is the leading owner with
$14,575 in purses.
1942-43-44
--Del Mar is 'dark' as the U.S. plunges into World War II. Initially,
the grounds are used for training by the Marines, then as a manufacturing
site for parts to B-17 bombers.
1945
-- The war ends and Del Mar begins again. When Japan surrenders,
President Truman declares a national holiday for August 15 and 20,324
turn out at the track and bet a whopping $958,476, a Del Mar record.
1946
-- Indian Watch and War Allies deadheat for the win in the first
running of the Bing Crosby Handicap. The six-furlong dash goes on
to become the track's annual sprint championship and year after
year draws the quickest in the west for speed battles deluxe.
1947
-- The Santa Fe Railroad brings both racehorses and bettors south
to Del Mar to do their thing. Cheering the arrival of the "racetrack
special" from Los Angeles becomes a popular tradition for the
locals.
1948
-- A new crop of Hollywood types makes Del Mar the spot to be for
summer frolic. Among the celebs who join in the turf and surf fun
this year are Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Betty Grable, George Jessel,
Mickey Rooney and Jimmy Durante. Durante becomes such a regular
that the track eventually names its turf course in his honor.
1949
-- A young rider out of Texas sets a Del Mar record of 52 wins at
the meet and becomes the first apprentice to claim the track's riding
title. His name is William Lee Shoemaker, and his history and that
of the track will become entwined hereafter.
1950
-- It's the "Kid" vs. the "Vet" at Del Mar as
Bill Shoemaker and Johnny Longden go head-and-head all summer for
the track's riding crown. In the end they finish in a tie with 60
wins each.
1951
-- Bandleader Harry James makes a blast with Big Noise, a colt he
named for his famous trumpet. The juvenile captures the Del Mar
Futurity with Ralph Neves in the irons.
1952
-- For the first time Del Mar's average daily crowd climbs into
the five figure range when the 41-day meet draws 426,691, a daily
average of 10,433. The average daily pari-mutuel handle for the
year is $760,058.
1953
-- The track presents its richest stakes schedule thus far with
10 events worth $130,000 in added money. Leading rider Bill Shoemaker
wins half of them, giving him five of the 93 added-money races he'll
capture during his unparalleled Del Mar riding career.
1954
-- It's that Shoemaker fellow again, this time winning a remarkable
94 races during the meet's 41-day run, a Del Mar standard that may
never be topped. Shoe teams up with trainer R. H. (Red) McDaniel
that year to nearly breakup the game at the seashore: McDaniel saddles
a record 47 winners, giving Shoemaker a leg-up on 42 of them.
1955
-- An Argentinean filly named Cipria wins a maiden race by a head
on September 1 and rewards her backers with $263.40 for each $2
bet to win, a Del Mar record that still stands today.
1956
-- John Longden becomes the world's winningest rider--passing Sir
Gordon Richards--when he boots home Arrogate in the Del Mar Handicap
on September 3, Labor Day, for victory No. 4,871.
1957
-- The tough and versatile handicap horse How Now wins the six-furlong
Bing Crosby Handicap and the nine-furlong Del Mar Handicap during
the season. The two stakes wins are the first of five he'll accomplish
at the track, a mark that has been tied (Flawlessly), but not surpassed
in the track's history.
1958
-- Mr. and Mrs. Fred Turner, Jr.'s Tomy Lee wins the Del Mar Futurity
by three lengths under Bill Shoemaker. The following year Shoe and
the English-bred colt by Tudor Minstrel combine to capture the Kentucky
Derby.
1959
-- The CTBA Selected Yearling Sales, now in its sixth summer at
Del Mar, draws the get of such stallions as Royal Charger, Determine,
Alibhai, Helioscope, Citation, Berseem and Imbros. One hundred and
one head sell for a total of $613,000 as buyers look for the likes
of such recent Del Mar yearling bargains as Lucky Mel, Old Pueblo,
T.V. Lark and Silky Sullivan.
1960
-- Del Mar unveils its brand-new seven-eighths mile turf course
with its unique diagonal chute that allows for mile and one-sixteenth
and mile and one-eighth starts. The course is an instant success.
1961
-- Trainer Charles Whittingham saddles W.M. Ingram's Scotland for
a victory in the Del Mar Handicap. It is the first of a record 73
stakes victories at the seaside course for the shiny-domed conditioner,
who goes on to become one of the greatest handlers of horses the
game has ever known.
1962
-- Crazy Kid, one of the fastest horses to ever come out of California,
wins a division of the six-furlong Bing Crosby Handicap in a world's
record 1:07 4/5. Later that summer he runs a mile and one-eighth
in 1:47 3/5 to capture the Del Mar Handicap.
1963
-- It's a season for track records to tumble. Pirate Cove runs a
mile in a rapid 1:33 3/5, a main-track mark that is to stand for
the next 25 years. On the turf course, the teletimer can't keep
up with the horses: Victory Beauty sets the standard at 7 1/2 furlongs
with a time of 1:29 2/5; the same horse runs 1 1/16 miles in a record
1:43 2/5, and Puyallup establishes a new yardstick for 1 3/8 miles
at 2:18 4/5.
1964
-- Del Mar presents its silver anniversary summer season at the
course "where nobody's in a hurry but the horses." Racing
secretary Barry Whitehead comes up with a stakes and purse distribution
of $1,500,000, which averages out to about $35,000 in prize money
for the 42 days.
1965
-- The sea breezes dance around some of the sport's biggest names
in the winner's circle at Del Mar. The leading rider is William
Hartack, he of the five Kentucky Derbies. The leading trainer is
Farrell Jones, who is capturing the sixth of his record 11 turf
and surf titles. And the top owner is Louis Rowan, the man who brought
us Coursing, Ruken and Quicken Tree.
1966
-- In '66, a list of the track's top six riders and top six trainers
looks like this: Riders--Donald Pierce, Alvaro Pineda, Jerry Lambert,
Rudy Campas, Bobby Jennings and Mario Valenzuela; Trainers--Farrell
Jones, J.L. Mosbacher, Clyde Turk, James Jordan, Riley Cofer and
Dale Landers.
1967
-- Del Mar tries an experiment with a second meeting, running 42
days in the summer and 20 in the fall. The summer stand draws 10,028
a day, while the fall manages 4,173. On the pari-mutuel end, the
summer portion does a daily take of $955,687, with the fall meet
falling to $400,033. The experiment is not repeated.
1968
-- One of America's premier race callers, Harry Henson, takes up
his summer post at the Del Mar mike for the first time, after making
his local bow at the fall session in 1967. For the next 16 years
his husky baritone massages the faithful at the horse heaven by
the Pacific.
1969
-- Clement L. Hirsch's Figonero fires big in the lane to win the
Del Mar Handicap over Triple Tux. The South American import's winning
time for the mile and one-eighth--1:46 4/5--establishes a new world
record.
1970
-- Bill Shoemaker boots home a filly named Dares J on September
7, 1970 at Del Mar and surpasses John Longden as the winningest
rider of all time. Longden is there for the occasion and greets
Shoe in the winner's circle after victory No. 6,033.
1971
-- For the only time in its history, the Del Mar Futurity is divided
and the end results turn out to be quite similar. In the first division,
favored MacArthur Park wins easily under Bill Shoemaker, while in
the second half favored D.B. Carm also scores easily under Fernando
Toro. Both colts run the seven and one-half furlongs on turf in
1:29 and take home $41,975.
1972 -- A young Midwestern
horseman named Jack Van Berg ships Mongo's Pride to Del Mar and
wins his first seaside stakes race in the Escondido Handicap. Van
Berg goes on to saddle more than 6,000 winners, though he doesn't
capture another stakes at Del Mar until Beyond Perfection scores
in the 1990 Del Mar Debutante.
1973 -- Del Mar inaugurates the "Rocking
Chair Derby," a gathering of former riders for a return to
glory in one exhibition race each summer. Racing's answer to the
"Old-Timers Game" draws eight soon-to-be-sore veterans:
Ken Church, Dean Hall, Bill Harmatz, John Longden, Pete Moreno,
Ralph Neves, George Taniguchi and Angel Valezuela. After the dust
and nostalgia settle, Hall gets to ride the rocking chair in the
winner's circle.
1974 -- Ambassador Maxwell Gluck's famous
Elmendorf colors fly on top of the owners' roster at Del Mar as
the top money maker at the session. Those same gold, blue and white
silks lead the seashore parade for the next four summers, too.
1975 -- Show biz sparkles in the Del Mar
winner's circle as movie producer Howard Koch and actor Telly Savalas
get their charge Telly's Pop to win the Del Mar Futurity. Though
visions of Derbies-to-come were not to be, on this sunny afternoon
lollipops aplenty were raised in cheers by trackside star-gazers.
1976 -- "The Pirate" from Panama,
Laffit Pincay, Jr., wins six races on opening day en route to 86
tallies and the first of his five Del Mar riding titles. During
his exceptional summer stand, the muscular jockey also captures
12 stakes races, a record that still stands.
1977 -- Bing Crosby makes one final visit
to the track he founded, then dies later that year of a heart attack.
His memory lives on at Del Mar each summer, though, by virtue of
lore, legend and his now famous rendition of "Where the Turf
Meets the Surf."
1978 -- A trainer making the switch from
quarter horses to thoroughbreds lets the racing world know he's
for real when he cuts loose a flashy filly named Terlingua to capture
the Del Mar Debutante. The trainer's name is D. Wayne Lukas and
he goes on to rewrite racing history by building one of the winningest
stables of all time.
1979 -- As the track completes its first
decade under the control of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, attendance
(17,449 per day) and handle ($2,696,598 per day) show a rise for
the 10th straight year.
1980 -- Mary Lou Tuck strikes a blow for
liberation when she pulls off a stakes double with the grey battler
Go West Young Man. The trainer sends out her charger to capture
both the Eddie Read and Del Mar handicaps, the biggest wins ever
scored by a female conditioner in the history of the track to that
point.
1981 -- A late-running grey horse carries
rider Eddie Delahoussaye and trainer Edwin Gregson to the winner's
circle following the finish of the Del Mar Futurity. The following
spring Gato del Sol takes those two to the winner's circle again,
this time in Kentucky's famed Run for the Roses.
1982 -- It's a winning year for juveniles
at the track as Landaluce triumphs in the Del Mar Debutante for
trainer D. Wayne Lukas and goes on to be named 2-year-old filly
champion, while Roving Boy captures the Del Mar Futurity for trainer
Joe Manzi and picks up an Eclipse as top 2-year-old colt.
1983 -- If you like to watch Eclipse Award
winners run, Del Mar is the place to be this year. Althea (2-year-old
filly champion) wins the Del Mar Debutante, then comes back to beat
the boys in the Del Mar Futurity. Heartlight No. One (3-year-old
filly champion) takes the Del Mar Oaks. Bates Motel (champion older
horse) captures the San Diego 'Cap. And Chinook Pass (champion sprinter)
is best in the Bing Crosby Handicap.
1984 -- Trevor Denman, the South African
racing commentator whose colorful style changes the nature of race
calling in the United States, takes command of the microphone on
the Del Mar roof. Thereafter it's "And away they go."
1985 -- Del Mar completes an underground
tunnel into its infield and fans flock to the center of the track
for picnics, rays, Frisbee flings and close-up views of the thoroughbred
action. It quickly becomes hard to believe that the infield hasn't
been part of the track forever.
1986 -- Five turf marks and a like number
of dirt standards are set by such good horses as: Turf--Hidden Light
(Del Mar Oaks--1:47 4/5); Al Mamoon (Eddie Read H.--1:46 3/5); Aberuschka
(Palomar H.--1:34 2/5). Dirt--Brave Raj (Sorrento S.--1:22 3/5);
Hopeful Word (Cabrillo H.--1:46 2/5); Temperate Sil (Balboa S.--1:23).
1987 -- Bill Shoemaker and Charlie Whittingham
team up for the third time to win the Del Mar Handicap, here with
a horse named Swink. The tally is the 93rd and final stakes victory
at Del Mar for Shoe, who goes out in style: Swink sets a track and
stakes record of 2:13 4/5 for 11 grassy furlongs.
1988 -- The big names abound this summer:
Gary Stevens wins his second straight seaside riding crown; Chris
McCarron wins 10 stakes races; D. Wayne Lukas wins his third training
title; Fred W. Hooper is the leading owner; Precisionist breaks
a 25-year-old track standard with a mile in 1:33 1/5. If that isn't
enough, Inter Track Wagering comes to the seashore and pushes daily
handle ($6,749,971) and attendance (33,100) through the roof.
1989 -- Del Mar becomes the leading track
in the country with a daily average handle of $7,320,623; Olympic
Native sets a track record for seven panels (1:20 1/5) in winning
the Pat O'Brien B. C. Handicap; and Bill Shoemaker goes out a winner
for the 889th and final time in his very last ride at the seaside
oval on September 10.
1990--Del Mar retains its hold as the nation's
leading track with a daily average handle of $7,510,867. The track
also announces plans for its richest race ever--the $1,000,000 Pacific
Classic for 1991--and finalizes a program for the start of a new
$80,000,000 grandstand following racing in '91.
1991 -- The hometown horse--John and Betty
Mabee's Best Pal--zooms to an impressive tally in the $1,000,000
Pacific Classic as the lone 3-year-old in the powerhouse lineup
for the inaugural edition of the track's richest and most prestigious
race ever; Del Mar retains its place atop the nation's list in daily
average handle ($7,806,430) and moves into the No. 1 spot for daily
average attendance (37,072); and, with the close of racing on September
11, the wrecking ball lands on the old grandstand and the rebuilding
begins.
1992 -- The "new" Del Mar--well,
half of it, anyway--is unveiled, causing a striking juxtaposition
of the track's past and future. This temporary arrangement, which
features a rebuilt grandstand section alongside the old clubhouse
and turf club, will last only for one year. Out on the track, Peter
Wall's Missionary Ridge pulls off a major upset as the longest shot
in the field in the second edition of the $1,000,000 Pacific Classic
and Del Mar continues its reign as the nation's leader in both daily
average handle ($7,699,259) and attendance (35,384).
1993 -- The "new" Del Mar, $80-million
worth, is dedicated by Governor Pete Wilson. Trainer Bobby Frankel
makes it two-for-three in the $1-million Pacific Classic with 505
Farms and Nahem's Bertrando, Laffit Pincay, Jr. wins the 8,000th
race of his remarkable career and the track continues its run in
the racing heavens with average handle ($8,122,609) and attendance
(34,415).
1994 -- Del Mar leads the nation in daily
average attendance (35,849) for the fourth straight year and reaches
a new high in daily average handle at $9,603,271. Trainer Bobby
Frankel continues his Pacific Classic dominance by registering his
third score in the race, this time with Juddmonte Farms' Tinners
Way. Owner Vern Winchell, trainer Ron McAnally and jockey Alex Solis
pull off a nifty double when they capture the meet's top two juvenile
events with Call Now (Del Mar Debutante) and On Target (Del Mar
Futurity).
1995 -- With simulcasting pushing the envelope's
edge even further out, the track takes yet another jump in the world
of average daily handle ($11,263,896), while remaining atop the
list for daily average attendance (33,150). In perhaps the most
bizarre incident in Del Mar's history, a suicidal fan dashes onto
the track and runs among a field of oncoming horses, somehow managing
to avoid killing or injuring himself and the eight throroughbreds
and their riders. Trainer Robert Frankel just won't let the Pacific
Classic loose, as he wins it again with Tinners Way. And a rejuvenated
Chris McCarron captures his fifth seaside riding title--but first
in 11 years--by winning the last race on the last day of the meet.
1996 -- The track experiences its most exciting
day ever when a record throng of 44,181 comes aboard to watch the
mighty Cigar attempt to break Citation's 16-consecutive-wins mark
in the sixth Pacific Classic. But the roar turns to a hush of disbelief
as unheralded Dare And Go upsets the champ. Buoyed by the big day,
Del Mar once more ranks among the cream of the game's crop--daily
average attendance of 31,587 (1st nationally) and daily average
handle of $11,677,827 (2nd nationally). Finally, on closing day,
a young colt named Silver Charm wins the Del Mar Futurity, a signpost
that points him out as something special, a point he furthers with
an exciting Triple Crown run the next spring that comes up less
than a length shy of glory.
1997 -- The track continues to do outstanding
numbers--30,578 for daily average attendance (1st in nation) and
a record $12,115,024 for daily average handle (2nd nationally)--amidst
the surf and turf and fun and sun. The mighty Gentlemen puts his
stamp of class on the Pacific Classic; trainer Bob Baffert fires
nothing but bullets out of his barn; Kent Desormeaux announces he's
back as a serious riding force on the Southern California scene;
and Golden Eagle Farm wins the owners' title en route to an Eclipse
Award season for John and Betty Mabee.
1998 -- Del Mar crowns a couple of new kings
-- trainer Ron McAnally and rider Laffit Pincay, Jr. The former
pulls the cinch on his 375th Del Mar winner, surpassing the long-held
standard for most seaside victories set by Farrell Jones, while
Pincay -- overcoming an injury that had him on the sidelines for
most of the meet -- registered tally No. 890 to go past the shore
oval's previous riding champ, Bill Shoemaker. The attendance and
handle continue to ride high, while Mr. Triple Crown (Bob Baffert),
Corey Nakatani and Golden Eagle Farm are respectively the best of
the best in the trainer, jockey and owner ranks. The flashy grey/roan
Free House collects the biggest prize of the season in taking the
$1-million Pacific Classic.
1999 - Golden Eagle Farm (John and Betty
Mabee) wins its sixth owners' title, eclipsing the famed Elmendorf
connections as Del Mar's winningest owners ever. Leading the Golden
Eagle '99 charge is the white-footed whirlwind General Challenge,
who romps in the rich Pacific Classic. Trainer Bob Baffert accomplishes
an amazing feat when he wins all five of the track's Grade I races,
four of them with leading rider David Flores in the boot.
2000 - For the 10th year in a row, Del
Mar and its satellites top the nation in daily average attendance
(27,960). Robert Frankel does it again (!) when he saddles Skimming
to take the Pacific Classic for the trainer¹s fifth win in 10 runnings
of the $1-million race. Bob Baffert captures his fourth straight
conditioning title and rising star Victor Espinoza is champion rider.
And it all gets seen on the track¹s new video boards in the infield
and the paddock.
2001 -- There is talk of changing the race
name from the Pacific Classic to the Robert Frankel when the Hall-of-Fame
trainer does his deja vu magic with Skimming for an unprecedented
sixth win in a particular $1-million race. The victory helps Juddmonte
Farms become the first Del Mar owner to top $1 million for a season
($1,150,954). And it's that Bob Baffert fellow as champion trainer
once more, while Alex Solis goes back on top among the riders.
2002 -- The track loses one of its great
leaders when John C. Mabee passes at age 80, but carries on the
tradition he helped put in place, including his grandest idea of
all: the $1-million Pacific Classic (captured this year by the 3-year-old
ace Came Home). Daily average handle goes to an all-time high ($12,351,679);
a rejuvenated Patrick Valenzuela wins a riding title for the first
time in more than a decade; Bob Baffert takes his sixth straight
training title, and The Thoroughbred Corp. captures its first owners
crown.
2003 -- Del Mar was saddened with the passing
of two of its riding stars, John Longden and Bill Shoemaker. South
American ace Candy Ride sets a track record (1:59.11) in winning
the Pacific Classic. The betting goes higher still with another
record season ($570,903,890). Bob Baffert and Pat Valenzuela are
the training and riding champs again, and Valenzuela and Hall of
Famer Julie Krone - making a big splash in her first season at the
shore - put on a match race for the ages with P Val winning it by
a whisker.
