Rain, protests didn't hurt Del Mar fall meet

Two of the 15 scheduled Del Mar Thoroughbred Club fall meet dates were canceled due to rain and protesters seeking to end horse racing targeted the Bing Crosby Season meet in demonstrations and in the media, but Del Mar Thoroughbred Club general manager Joe Harper thought that the Bing Crosby Season meet was successful.

“It’s the highest daily handle we’ve had in any of these meets,” Harper said.

The California Horse Racing Board gave Del Mar a fall meet in 2014.

“I think it went well,” Harper said of the 2019 fall meet. “It’s unfortunate we had a few horses that were injured, but we’re still the safest track in North America.”

An unusually high number of fatalities at Santa Anita Park in 2019 placed other tracks under scrutiny. Del Mar undertook safety measures before the summer meet.

“The industry is embracing a lot of these new changes,” Harper said.

State regulatory agencies provide standards for horse racing in each state. There is no national organization, although tracks can work together on standards.

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, which is a nonprofit organization, is working with the New York Racing Association, which operates the Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga tracks; Churchill Downs Inc., which owns eight tracks including the Louisville track and two harness racing tracks, and the Stronach Group, which includes the Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields tracks in California, Portland Meadows in Oregon, Gulfstream Park in Florida, and Maryland's Laurel Park, Pimilco and Rosecroft tracks, on safety and other standards.

“We came to an agreement on a lot of protocols and things that will give us a lot safer racing,” Harper said. “Now we’re all going to be on the same page.”