In 1937, Bing Crosby collected the first ticket from the first visitor to the Del Mar Race Track, a project that he, along with several other investors and movie stars of the day, helped to finance. During this first day alone, the track received 15,000 visitors. By the second day, 18,000 people had made the journey to the sleepy seaside town of Del Mar to experience the excitement of the combination of celebrity sightings, horse racing and live entertainment.
In 1938, the track hosted the famous race between two of the most well-known racehorses of all time, Seabiscuit, and Ligarotti. This race drew national attention and 20,000 visitors and paved the way for more high-profile races and helped establish the Del Mar Race Track as one of the places to be in Southern California for movie stars and racing enthusiasts alike.
In it’s heyday, the Santa Fe Railroad even had a special train that carried race fans to and from the track. The Hollywood influence was also partly responsible for the track’s use of a new technology, the photo-finish camera, which was used for the first time during the first race in 1937. The train became so popular that racing officials would hold the races if it was running late, since such a large percentage of total race attendees rode it on a regular basis.
Today, the track still hosts it’s annual races and championship thoroughbred racing competitions, and hosts a plethora of musical acts between July 22 and September 9th. Many stars also frequent the track during the peak racing season, and the city of Del Mar has recently stepped up its marketing efforts in an attempt to draw new generations of fans to the stands. Race fans can even sign up for a free account that allows them to view competitors and stats, and place bets online at Del Mar bets.