Seersucker suit, or shorts, sandals and T shirt? Fedora or straw hat? SPF 30 or 15? Margarita or Dos Equis? These are the tough questions folks in the San Diego North County area faced as the sun rose on the annual party known as Del Mar opening day. There will be plenty of beautiful people, high fashion, frivolity, botox, saline and silicone and, oh yes, some horse racing at the track opened by crooner Bing Crosby and actor Pat O’Brien some 72 years ago.

Del Mar is the Saratoga West of the Thoroughbred world. It doesn’t take itself quite as seriously as the original in upstate New York, doesn’t enforce a dress code for the “ladies and gentlemen” in the box seats, and doesn’t drain you with those 90/90 days (temperatures and humidity) or surprise you with violent afternoon thunderstorms.

Del Mar doesn’t have the same quality of racing day in and day out that Saratoga offers or the tradition of the turf. But it’s not as if the track where the turf meets the surf is without some great racing history of its own. And the village of Del Mar embraces this summer race meet with the same enthusiasm and open arms that Saratoga Springs does for its East Coast counterpart.

Join Ray Paulick later today for a live blog of the opening-day festivities from Del Mar. He’ll have camera and note pad in hand to bring you some of the color and festivities of the big day. Updates will begin around 4:30 p.m. Eastern, roughly 30 minutes before the first race.

1:50 p.m. … It’s official. The meeting is starting soon. Bing Crosby’s Del Mar song is being played, and it’s one of those things I never really get tired of–even on the way out of the track after a losing day.

One of the great challenges of opeing day at Del Mar is actually getting into the track. The streets are jammed, and I prefer walking over from our accommodations. The problem is that it’s on the “wrong” side of the railroad tracks that parallel the Pacific Ocean, and sheriff’s deputies from San Diego County almost always stand guard to keep people from crossing the tracks on opening day–forcing them to find an alternate route. Today, however, maybe because of budget cutbacks, the coppers gave the walkers a break. So, after dashing across the tracks, I came across a group of a dozen 20-somethings who were staring across a lagoon at the track but had no idea how to get to their destination. I brushed past them and heard one of them say, “Hey, let’s just follow that old dude. He’s probably been doing this for 30 years.”

I looked around to see who they might be talking about before realizing it was me. Nice to be a respected elder.

1:55 p.m. … It will be interesting to see what type of impact the economy will have on Del Mar’s opening and on the full meeting. Last y year around the time of opening day, gasoline prices were running over $4 per gallon in SoCal, limited some people’s travel. This year, as I saw a long line of stretch limos pulled up to the clubhouse entrance, I had to wonder, “What recession?”  The horses are approaching the gate for the first race, which always begins right in front of the grandstand–a Del Mar tradition. The big question everyone asks is, “How will the track be playing?” It’s one they’ve been asking long before Del Mar Thoroughbred Club officials installed a Polytrack synthetic surface. 

We’ll find out soon enough.

2:05 p.m. … Speed didn’t hold up, but it shouldn’t have, with Omar Berrio and Joe Talamo setting off on quick fractions on their mounts (:22.02, :45.81). The winner in this one mile Polytrack race for $12,500 claimers was High Stakes Silver, ridden by the seven-pound apprentice jockey Christian Reyes Santiago, who first arrived on the Southern California scene during the just completed Hollywood Park meeting. Fantasy Free was second, with Distinctive Afleet, who was close to the early pace, finishing third.

Final time was 1:38.53, after six furlongs were clocked in 1:11.74 and seven panels in 1:24.96. The winner, owned by Holly or David Wilson and trained by Vladimir Cerir, is a 4-year-old son of Silver Deputy bred by Audley Farm in Virginia. High Stakes Silver had one win and a third in two previous Del Mar appearances, suggesting he likes this racetrack. Del Mar has always been a horses for courses place.

Like any new race meeting that draws a crowd, there’s something special about the first race at Del Mar. The fans erupt in a loud cheer as the horses leave the gate, welcoming the start of another year.

Also, like any new race meet, there’s a little rust around the edges of some of the procedures. Fans were kept in the dark about fractions of the race as it unfolded. As one emailer wrote to me: “We only had 45 weeks to get these things checked!” Somehow, Trevor Denman, who read the fractions after the results were official, didn’t need to see numbers on the tote board, pointing out that they were flying early.

2:45 p.m. … Via Zavata showed speed could indeed win on the Polytrack, rushing to the front soon after the start of the six-furlong second race (a maiden event for 3-year-olds and up) and showing his heels to his five opponents and winning easily under Victor Espinoza. The son of Zavata covered six furlongs in 1:11 and paid $8. Payment Approved tried to give Holly and David Wilson and Cerin the daily double but could do no better than second. Pious David was third. The winner is owned by Buster or Daniels or Hollendorfer and is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer. He was bred in Kentucky by Peter Van Andel and sold for $21,000 at the 2007 Keeneland September yearling sale.

Tine to get out of the press box and take in some sights.

3:30 p.m. … Where to begin? While wandering through the jam-packed paddock area and grandstand I learned second-hand about the terrible breakdown in the third race that resulted in the euthanasia of the Argentine-bred Mi Rey and the hospitalization of jockey Rafael Bejarano. Del Mar publicist Mac McBride said he was told by personnel on the scene that Bejarano was taken either to Scripps La Jolla or Encinitas hospital “for precautionary purposes.” 

Mi Rey was racing off the lead near the eighth pole when he suffered a catastrophic injury to his right foreleg, according to witnesses. Bejarano went down and may have been struck by trailing horses.

We’ll get more updates as they come in on Bejarano. 

Fatal injuries are tough to take on opening day, closing day, or any day in between. Mi Rey was trained by Doug O’Neill and owned by Gregg Guiol. The 8-year-old gelded son of Louis Quatroze had won 10 of 36 starts lifetime and was two for seven this year. He was dropping from a $16,000 claiming event at Hollywood Park after finishing seventh, beaten 13 lengths.

UPDATE ON BEJARANO: He was taken to Scripps La Jolla for “precautionary X-rays.”

3:45 p.m. … First-time starter Punctual (Florida-bred by Werblin out of Meetmeontime, by General Meeting) was an impressive winner of the first 2-year-old maiden race of the meeting. Peter Miller, who was red-hot at the start of last year’s meeting, trains the filly, who won off by daylight over Deputy Judy R N and Action Gal. She covered 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:05 under Tyler Baze.

4:00 p.m. … Further word on Rafael Bejarano, injured in today’s third race when Mi Rey broken down at the top of the stretch. Doctors attending to the jockey at Scripps La Jolla Hospital said “areas of concern” were his left claviicle or collar bone and his left jaw. A broken collar bone is one of the most common injuries suffered by jockeys in spills. 

4:30 p.m. … A few photos from the “One and Only Truly Fabulous Hats Contest” and some scenes from around the track…

                  4:50 p.m. … Back to the business of racing. Dr. Rick Arthur, medical director for the California Horse Racing, will be holding a press conference at 5 p.m.  to discuss the breakdown by Mi Rey and the injury to Rafael Bejarano in today’s third race. Track officials are concerned that the breakdown and accident will be the lead on all the San Diego news channels and in tomorrow morning’s papers. The stories won’t lead with the huge crowd in the face of tough economic times or any of the other activities on the day, but on the one negative. As Walter Cronkite might have said, though, “That’s the way it is.”

 

5:01 p.m. … Dr. Arthur said the injury sustained by Mi Rey was to his right front fetlock and that it was exacerbated when the horse continued to run on the injured leg down the stretch. The gelding was euthanized in the horse ambulance, Arthur said. “It was our only choice,” he said, because it was the type of injury “not emanable to surgical repair” and the horse was in “more discomfort than most horses” after running on the damaged leg.

Arthur (pictured, left)  talked about the CHRB’s extensive injury tracking and said there has been a 40% decrease in racing fatalities from fiscal year 2007-08 to 2008-09.

6:00 p.m. … UPDATE ON BEJARANO. Last year’s leading rider at Del Mar, suffered “multiple facial fractures” in the third race spill. According to to Dr. Philip Sanderson, physician who initially examined Bejarano in the track first-aid station, X-rays showed that Bejarano suffered fractures of the jaw, nose and orbital bones in the mid-stretch mishap which occurred when Mi Rey broke down, unseating Bejarano. The fallen rider appeared to be struck by a trailing horse. He will remain in Scripps Hospital in La Jolla overnight and may require surgery to repair the facial injuries.

6:45 p.m. … Afleet Eagle was an impressive winner of the Oceanside Stakes (the only division, the 3-year-old turf race is almost always run in multiple divisions as the opening-day feature). The Northern Afleet colt raced just off the early lead, took command after a half mile, then drew off to win by 2 1/2 lengths, the mile on firm turf in 1:34.35. Mark S the Cooler was second, followed by Fendezvous. Tyler Baze rode for trainer Vladimir Cerin and owner Ronald Waranch. It was his third consecutive victory in four starts and first try on grass. “He showed he liked synthetics, so I didn’t think he’d like the grass,” Cerin said, “but this was the only place to run. I’ll see how he comes out of the race and then make plans. I’d like to enjoy this one with Mr. Waranch. We could run in the (Del Mar) Derby. I’d like to win that race. This is a pretty neat horse; he’s pretty impressive. We have a lot of options.”

The ninth and next to last race on the card was just a $20,000 claimer, but pot-stirring owner Jerry Jamgotchian could be heard from miles away cheering for Wickednwackyingrid down the stretch as she won the 6 1/2-furlong race under Martin Pedroza. He named the 4-year-old filly after Ingrid Fermin,  a former executive director of the California Horse Racing Board who has returned to the steward’s stand for the current meeting, much to Jamgotchian’s chagrin. 

“This horse was named after the most corrupt executive director and corrupt steward in the history of California horse racing,” said Jamgotchian, who has filed numerous lawsuits against the CHRB during and after Fermin’s tenure as executive director and has demanded a hearing to have Fermin removed as a steward, saying her past admission of gambling while a racing official and alleged biases against certain trainers should disqualify her from the job.

Jamgotchian promises to speak up at Thursday’s meeting of the CHRB, something he’s never been afraid to do in the past.

7:00 p.m. … The last race was run, with Hollywood Park leading rider Joel Rosario getting the win aboard Saintly Spirit. It was Rosario’s second win of the day and the third for trainer John Sadler, who you’ll remember was embroiled in a controversy involving anabolic steroids during the 2008 Del Mar meeting. Sadler has developed into one of the Southern California circuit’s most succesful trainers, and he figures to be a force during the current stand after getting off to such a fast start on opening day.

Officials have not yet released today’s attendance figures but publicist Mac McBride predicts it will be in the vicinity of last year’s 43,459. That’s a lot of hats.

Wagering on the day was $13,182,915, a 5.5% drop from 2008’s total of $13,956,989. This year’s card was 10 races, compared to nine in 2008.

That’s all from Del Mar.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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