Honorary member Joe Harper spoke about scheduled events at the Del Mar Race Track
Arrogate overtakes California Chrome to win the 2016 Breeders' Cup Classic (above; Photo credit: Barbara D. Livingstone). Arrogate will be stabled at Del Mar in advance of the 2017 Breeders' Cup series, to be held at Del Mar November 3-4, 2017
Honorary Rotary Club of Del Mar member Joe Harper kicked off the new Rotary Year by giving news about the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, of which he is President and CEO. The 2017 summer meet opens on Wednesday July 19, 2017- the start of an exciting year at the Del Mar Race Track. On November 3-4, Del Mar will host the Breeders' Cup. The site of the Breeders' Cup rotates annually, and although Santa Anita has hosted the Cup nine times since its inaugural race at Hollywood Park in 1984, this will be the first time the Cup will be hosted by Del Mar. Joe said that in his pitch to the site selection committee, he emphasized San Diego as a destination city that offers around 30,000 hotel rooms and several 5-star restaurants within 25 miles of the track. Based on estimates for previous Breeders' Cups at Santa Anita, Joe’s efforts to secure the Cup for Del Mar will likely bring an additional $40 million in tourism revenue to the region.
This year’s meet is also special because Arrogate, the all-time leading money winner in North America, will spend the summer in Del Mar. Joe noted that he encouraged his friend and Arrogate’s trainer, Bob Baffert, to stable Arrogate at Del Mar in advance of the Breeders' Cup in November, which would allow the horse to acclimate to the track conditions. Joe said that Arrogate is slated to run two other races in addition to the Breeders' Cup: The San Diego Handicap and the Pacific Classic, on July 22 and August 19, respectively.
Joe realized early on that the track needed to find novel ways of attracting younger people to the track. As a result of his insight, Del Mar now offers a number of events in addition to racing. There’s the Friday Night Concert Series, Family Weekends, with plenty of kid-friendly activities in the infield, giveaway days, and several food-focused events, including Burgers and Brews, Pizza and Beer Festival, the State BBQ Championship, and Tacotopia.
Every year Joe generously hosts members of the Rotary Club of Del Mar for a Day at the Races in the Turf Club. We’ll all be looking forward to our outing in August, and to the many events at the Del Mar track in the coming months.