Del Mar’s 72nd season of Thoroughbred sport raced to a successful
conclusion Wednesday, finishing out a 37-day run that many are seeing as
one of the best in its storied history.
The seaside oval that entertainment icon Bing Crosby and his
Hollywood pals began on a lark back in 1937 once again put on a
sparkling show that properly showcased the best California racing has to
offer over a summer filled with good competition, healthy rewards, new
faces and the thing that Del Mar does best of all – presenting the game
at its best with hopes for even better to come.
The track’s final attendance count at the end of its seven-week
session tallied up at 660,245, nearly even with 2010’s total of 662,521,
meaning a daily average of 17,844 in 2011 vs. last year’s 17,906.
Though the final numbers showed a slight percentage decline of 0.3%, the
fact remains that the hearty crowds that click through the turnstiles
on a season-long basis are the best in the west by far and right at the
very top in the national picture.
Del Mar’s handle figures showed a slight decline of 4.2%, dipping
from $12,133,302 to $11,628,660 on a daily average basis. Overall, the
2011 total handle was $430,260,422 as opposed to last year’s
$448,932,160.
And though handle inched down, it still raced ahead of pre-meet
projections and – with an especially strong finish in the final days of
the session -- will allow the track to pay its horsemen a record purse
underpayment of more than $1.5-million when all is said and done, a
bonus of more than 10% on top of the nation’s highest overnight purses.
“I’m not going to get into the obvious things about the economy and
lack of racing stock and all those other ready-made excuses,” said Del
Mar Thoroughbred Club’s CEO, president and general manager, Joe Harper.
“What I want to say is this: We adapted, we adjusted, we partnered, we
promoted and we worked hard. In the end, we managed to do what most
everyone in this business hopes to do – we conducted a helluva good race
meeting that was fun for everyone involved.”
Among the things that Harper and his crew could boast of as the curtain fell on their summer stand:
• Del Mar offered the highest overnight purses in America during its
meeting, averaging a track record sum estimated at $630,000 per day.
This was an approximate 13.7% increase over 2010’s daily average of
$556,324.
• The track’s innovative “Ship and Win” program – in which horsemen
were given monetary incentives to bring in horses from out-of-state –
lured more than 100 new runners to Del Mar, many of them making more
than one start during the meet. The track worked hand-in-glove with the
Thoroughbred Owners of California to draw the extra horses, some from
out-of-state stables, others purchased and brought to the meet by local
owners. Their presence eased pressure to fill fields and added spice to
the fan’s handicapping puzzles. All told, the “Ship and Win” program was
worth $107,000 in $1,000 starter bonuses and $61,516 in 20% purse bonus
rewards for a grand total of $168,516.
• Its claiming box, a signal as to how horsemen see the viability of
the game, burst with activity throughout the summer, finishing up with
246 total claims for $5,965,500 as opposed to 2010’s numbers of 141
claims for a total of $3,635,500.
• Several new bets were instituted for the 2011 season, including
the “50¢ Players Pick 5” with a reduced takeout that proved popular with
the wagering public. Besides, the track experimented with “seeding” its
Sunday Pick Six Pools with a $50,000 carryover that pumped up the
handle on that longtime California staple by 15% on Sundays and led to
several husky next-day carryovers.
• Bucking industry trends, Del Mar actually increased its field size
during the stand from 8.2 last year to 8.4 in 2011, yet another flag of
encouragement for those spotting trends in the business. Additionally,
Del Mar maintained a five-day race week and in total ran only two fewer
races than it offered in 2010.
• In keeping with its racing-is-fun theme, Del Mar conducted a campy
“Battle of the Exes” match race between formerly engaged jockeys Mike
Smith and Chantal Sutherland on August 7 that drew huge response from
both local and national media. It also drew an estimated extra 4,000
fans to the racetrack that afternoon.
• The track’s record of eclipsing itself for Opening Day attendance
continued its remarkable run when a Del Mar single-day record throng of
46,588 came on board to party, meaning first-day attendance has risen
for the last seven years straight. The Opening Day numbers tie into the
track’s overall rise in attendance that has come forward since the turn
of the century. In 2000, Del Mar averaged 14,252 per afternoon on track.
This season’s daily average of 17,844 means that number has increased
by approximately 25%.