A different kind of Del Mar meet gets started - quietly

DEL MAR, Calif. – At noon, when the gates usually open and the crowd charges forth to claim their territory along the apron, there was no sound by the Del Mar admission gates except for the chirping of a lone seagull.

There were no double-decker buses snaking their way off of Via de la Valle, heading down the Solana Gate entrance, and dropping off merry racegoers who arrived on the train. There were no tip-sheet salespeople trying to sell their cards, no bellying up to the bar for Del Margaritas.

Del Mar sells more than 630 boxes for its summer meet, four and six seats apiece. All sat empty. The turf club, empty. Every luxury suite, every dining area, empty too. The first race, per usual, started in front of the stands. Instead of more than 30,000 fans, many outfitted in hats both fine and silly, offering a full-throated cheer when the horses left the gate, or when they came around anew for the stretch run, the race took place in front of a smattering of essential personnel.

The sounds of summer at Del Mar have been replaced by the sounds of silence.

The prevailing attitude here, though, was at least racing was being conducted. As he stared straight ahead from the press box atop the grandstand early on the card Friday – seeing horses on the track, a colorful tote board, and a hi-definition video monitor – Joe Harper, the track’s long-time chief executive officer said, “If you look straight out there you’d think everything was normal.”

“At least we’re racing,” he said.

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That has been the focal point at all tracks throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the Southern California circuit included. Santa Anita had to suspend operations in March, and when racing resumed there weeks later new protocols were in place. There have been some differences in the approach at Los Alamitos, and now Del Mar, but the similarities are that fans and owners are not allowed in the afternoon. Bettors are wagering through advance-deposit wagering accounts. Del Mar is essentially a big television studio.

This July 10 opener at Del Mar was the second-earliest in the track’s history. The only opening day at an earlier date was the track’s first day ever, back on July 3, 1937, when track co-founder Bing Crosby stood at the admission gates and made sure to be photographed with the first fan through the turnstiles. Later that day, a horse he owned won the very first race. If he went out to eat that night, thus ended the day’s home cookin’.

Through the years, opening day has become a highlight of the sports and social season in the San Diego area. Opening day attracted such ever-increasing crowds through the previous decade that after a record 47,339 somehow stuffed their way into here on July 18, 2012, Del Mar started limiting the opening-day crowd just to make life for attendees a bit more comfortable.

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Oh, if only that were a problem this year.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused Del Mar to run three days a week for the meet, with the only exception the final day, a Monday, Labor Day.

Fans, owners, and the race schedule are not the only things impacted by the pandemic. Trevor Denman, the racecaller here for 35 years, exercised an abundance of caution and chose not to relocate from his home in Minnesota. Fortunately for Del Mar, the nationally prominent Larry Collmus, who calls the races for NBC Sports, was available after not having his contract renewed by the New York Racing Association. Goodbye Saratoga, hello Del Mar.

Collmus arrived Wednesday from his home in New Jersey and immediately acted like a regular, grabbing dinner both Wednesday and Thursday nights at The Brigantine, the popular seafood restaurant that’s just beyond the far turn, affording Collmus a view of his workplace for the next eight weeks.

On Friday, Collmus announced the day’s changes at 1 p.m., and 50 minutes later, when the horses came on the track for the first race, a fleeting moment of normalcy descended upon the track as Crosby’s signature song, “Where the Turf Meets the Surf,” was played over the loudspeakers.

There wasn’t the usual anticipation from the crowd gathered near the rail as the horses neared the starting gate. Without the roar that goes up when the gate opens, the clanging of the starting gate doors could be heard six stories above the track.

Collmus might be new, but he spoke for all who love this day, be it during the best of times, or, these days, far from it. “They’re off and running,” he said as they left the gate, “at Del Mar.”