Del Mar Ushers in Autumn Racing With ‘Bing Crosby Season’
Del Mar will kick off just the second autumn meet in the track's history on Friday when the 'Bing Crosby Season' gets underway.
The shortened 15-day meet will certainly have a different feel to it than the regular summer meet does. One thing that is immediately noticeable is on the backside, where many barns are currently empty. As the U-T San Diego points out, "Instead of nearly 2,000 stalls with horses, there are just 500, and most are empty right now." Most horsemen will ship in to race, instead of stabling at the track.
Del Mar officials have marketed this inaugural fall meet differently, going for a more relaxed atmosphere. The Bing Crosby Season brings with it an 'old Hollywood glamor'-type of feel to it. Races are named for old Hollywood stars and starlets like Betty Grable, Bob Hope, Desi Arnaz, and Cary Grant.
“We really had to change our brand, think out of the box on this one," Del Mar President and CEO Joe Harper said. “It’s not the summer party we have in the summer meet. Bing Crosby meets old Hollywood with yellow and blue replaced by black and gold. We needed to create a warmer feeling. But it takes three, four years to create an image. All of this is unknown, but I like this concept.”
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