Del Mar: Where Turf Meets Surf
Near La Jolla, California
When Bing Crosby greeted the first fan through the gate on July third, nineteen thirty-seven, the Del Mar racetrack already had the most glamorous board of directors in American sports history. Crosby was president, and the board was packed with Hollywood names. They called it the Del Mar Turf Club, and it was meant to be exactly that, a turf resort for Hollywood royalty looking for somewhere to escape the summer heat.
A year later, on August twelfth, nineteen thirty-eight, a huge crowd jammed the grandstands to watch Seabiscuit race Ligaroti. The legendary thoroughbred won by a nose, and a nationwide radio audience heard every stride. Today the fairgrounds host the San Diego County Fair each summer, and the racetrack still runs live meets each summer and fall. Crosby later sold his ownership stake, but the track holds the Bing Crosby Stakes in his honor every season.
