Del Mar prepares as expected heavy rain presents a fluid situation

Forecasts of heavy rain this weekend prompted the cancellation of racing at Del Mar on Saturday and an earlier post time on Friday. It was the first cancellation at the seaside oval since Tropical Storm Hilary blew through the area on Aug. 20, 2023. This is just the third time in the track’s 86-year history that it has lost a day of racing to the elements. 

The rain is not expected to get to Del Mar until late Friday, so track officials hoped to get the Friday card in. Eight races are on the docket with a new, earlier post time of 3 p.m. EST. 

The rain is expected to continue and get heavier through Saturday into Sunday. The status of Sunday racing was still up in the air but as of Friday morning it was a go, according to racing secretary David Jerkens. Entries for nine races have been drawn for the Sunday card, including a redraw of the $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes, originally scheduled for Saturday. The Grade 3 Bob Hope will be brought back next Friday. All racing Sunday will be conducted on the main track. 

The decision to cancel Saturday’s races was made Thursday morning.

“It’s a combination of people,” said Tom Robbins, vice president of racing at Del Mar. “From the president of Del Mar Josh Rubinstein to the track superintendent Dennis Moore to our turf course super John Beggin. We all get together.

“You have to make these decisions early if you can,” Robbins said, “and we rely heavily on accurate weather forecasts. We have a weather service, so Dennis can communicate any time of the day or night and get the latest.”

Robbins says he and Jerkens also communicated with the California Horse Racing Board, the California Thoroughbred Trainers and the Thoroughbred Owners of CaliforniaC.

“Given the situation here, most of our horses are up at Santa Anita,” Robbins said, “where they’re projected to get even more rain. We rely on horses safely vanning here, so that’s also under consideration, getting horses and people here that are racing and getting them back to Santa Anita safely.”

The delay in drawing the entries this week was to buy more time for the racing office to better gauge the weather conditions.

“How many times have we heard these forecasts for rain a week out, and then it changes?" Jerkens said. "We just figured let’s alter the entry schedule to give us time to allow us to make more accurate decisions.”

The revised entry schedule will remain in effect through next week: Sunday for next Friday’s races, Wednesday for Saturday, and Thursday for Sunday. It’s the same schedule the track used last year until the Thoroughbred Owners of California asked that they move the schedule out more days. Owners like more advanced notice of when their horses are running.

When asked about past cancellations, Jerkens recalled the Thanksgiving of 2019. 

“I still have vivid images of (trainer Jerry) Hollendorfer’s barn flooding,” Jerkens said. “That was intense with the horses in there.”

Jerkens has been coordinating efforts with stable superintendent Jackie Lynn in anticipation of the effect the rains might have on the barn area.

“Being at sea level, we don’t get great drainage,” Robbins said. “So we have to prepare should these barns take on some water. We’re already creating berms to keep the water out. You do what you can.”

Protecting horses and people is the top priority but there are other matters to consider, such as the condition of the track moving forward. 

“In anticipation of the heavy rain on Saturday,” Robbins said, “he’s (Moore) going to try to protect the track and roll it after the last race on Friday.”

As for the races on Saturday’s cancelled card, they were offered as extra races on Sunday.

“Everything’s main track,” Robbins said. “The turf races that were carded on Saturday were offered again for Sunday as extras, but they’re on the dirt.”

It remained a very fluid situation heading into the weekend. 

“We’re taking it one hour at a time,” Robbins said. “Sunday is looking better than Saturday, but rain is still in the forecast.”

“It’s not fun predicting weather,” Jerkens said.