Del Mar official calls racing with fans a longshot in 2020

Del Mar officials are making plans to accommodate a full stable area from early July to early September this summer, but are unsure whether its popular race meeting will be held in front of spectators.

In an interview Wednesday, chief executive officer Joe Harper said there are three leading scenarios – a race meeting from July 18-Sept. 7 with spectators, a meeting without spectators, or a canceled race meeting because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The track intends to open its stable area in early July, Harper said. Santa Anita, where a majority of the circuit’s stables are based year-round, is scheduled to close its stable area for the second half of the summer for annual renovation.

“The one thing that is going to happen is there is going to be a lot of horses here and they have nowhere else to go,” Harper said.

“We may not have a race meeting, but we’ll have a bunch of horses. Our concern is the health of the horses and the people that care for them. We’re formulating a plan for that.”

Harper downplayed the possibility that the race meeting would be held with spectators.

“I would be surprised if we could have a meeting with fans,” he said. “That’s a longshot.”

Harper said events in coming months related to the coronavirus outbreak will determine Del Mar’s course of action. He stressed that plans could change, depending on guidance from government officials.

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This has already been a busy week. Tuesday, the San Diego County Fair scheduled for June 5-July 5 was canceled. The track is located on the San Diego County Fairgrounds.

“You can’t have that many people gathered together in June, obviously,” Harper said. “And maybe not in July, either. Everything is up in the air.”

The cancellation of the fair will affect preparation for the summer race season. Typically, the track has less than two weeks to transform the property from the conclusion of the county fair to the start of training for the race meeting. Without the fair, there will be less urgency.

“We haven’t sat down with the fair [officials] to discuss and see what we can do,” Harper said. “It would appear that we could start early preparing the racetrack. That would be to everyone’s benefit.”

This summer, Del Mar is scheduled to run 36 days, with racing five days a week for most of the season. The number of racing days per week could change and “is under discussion,” Harper said.

“It’s part of the what-ifs, what can we do and what will we be able to do,” Harper said. “You hesitate to be specific.

“We’re fortunate that we’ve got a little time. We’re talking to the horseman and the other tracks. There are a lot of pieces to this puzzle. We’re trying to get the border.

“First and foremost is health and safety.”

Harper said the track is developing protocols for the summer to hire medical staff to conduct virus testing and ensure social distancing within the backstretch community. Meetings with county health officials are likely in coming weeks.

“When we talk to them, we want to have a plan on the books,” Harper said. “This is what we think we need to do and come to them with this and ask, What can we do to make it work?”

Currently, Golden Gate Fields and Santa Anita have been temporarily closed by county officials in Alameda and Los Angeles because of the coronavirus outbreak. Santa Anita officials plan to meet with county officials this week, with the hope of resuming racing in coming weeks.