Press box to be named for former publicist Dan Smith

The Del Mar press box will be named for Dan Smith, the longtime publicist who retired this year following 56 years of service, the track announced in a release Friday.

The ceremony will take place next year, in the hope that the press box will be functioning at capacity after the interruptions caused this year by the coronavirus pandemic.

Smith, 83, originally worked at all the Southern California tracks, and headed the publicity department at Santa Anita in the early 1970s. He took over the year-round job at Del Mar in 1975 after the passing of the track’s first publicity director, Eddie Read.

:: Click to learn about our DRF's Free Past Performance program.

Smith for years also headed the track’s marketing department, and in those dual roles was part of Del Mar’s renovation in the early 1990s to the modern facility it is today. He also came up with the name for the track’s signature race, the Pacific Classic, inaugurated in 1991. His resume also includes longtime stints working on the notes team at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby, and assisting NBC announcers Dick Enberg and Tom Hammond with their Breeders’ Cup and Triple Crown duties.

In recent years Smith has worked only the live meets, having handed over the reins to his longtime assistant, Mac McBride.