Hollywood Stars And The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
In 1937, a well known singer named Bing Crosby talked to some of his Hollywood friends about a dream he had to build a horse racing track in the quiet resort community of Del Mar California, just north of San Diego. His friends Jimmy Durante and Pat O’Brien shared Bing’s dream and set out to help him build a great race track and where they could play the horses all day and the girls all night in the pleasant climate and cooling Pacific coast breezes of Del Mar.
When Del Mar opened in 1937, Bing Crosby himself was at the gate to personally greet the fans. The seaside city of Del Mar, just north of San Diego, soon became famous as the home of the Del Mar Racetrack, visited by spectators, horsemen and horse racing fans from all across America.
A milestone in the track’s history came during the summer of 1938 when the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club hosted a $25,000 match-up of Seabiscuit. Only Major League Baseball superseded horse racing in American sports during this era. The upcoming match was the talk of the country. The race was the first time a thoroughbred horse race was ever broadcast nationally by NBC radio. The rest is history: Seabiscuit won and the Del Mar Race Track was famous – once and for all joining other storied race tracks in the annals of sports history as one of the most famous race tracks in the country.
Between the years of 1938 and 1942 the Del Mar horse racing track entertained Hollywood personalities and celebrities Mickey Rooney, Desi Arnaz , Lucille Ball, W. C. Fields, Douglas Fairbanks, Paulette Goddard and Ava Gardner. A famous comedian of the day, Joe Frisco, spent a fair amount of time and money in Del Mar. He played on his reputation as the consummate track loser with lines like: “I went to the track Monday but it was closed, so I just shoved the money under the door.”
When the United States entered the second World War in 1942, the fun was over for a few years. The site was used as a training base for the Marines, then a manufacturing plant for bomber airplane parts. When Japan surrendered in 1945, August 15 was a national holiday. More than 20,000 horse lovers attended Del Mar that day, betting more than $900,000 – a spectacular sum at the time.
After the war, the Santa Fe Railroad offered a “racetrack special” to bring race fans from Los Angeles directly to Del Mar. The special program was a success, bringing streams of spectators, vacationers, race fans and horses to Del Mar. Waiting for and meeting the train at the train station became a tradition for local residents and vacationers alike. The 2009 season, 72 years after Bing took tickets on the first opening day, the race season runs July 21 through September 8.
Terry Hunefeld has traveled the world in search of the perfect Bed and Breakfast. When Hunefeld took early retirement three years ago, he and his wife build a little inn near the sea near Del Mar. Be sure to check out Solana Beach hotel or Del Mar hotels.