Tropical-storm watch for Sunday covers area including Del Mar

Hurricane Hilary is expected to bring heavy rain and wind to Southern California on Sunday, leading Del Mar to consider possible effects on Sunday's racing.

The National Weather Service forecasts that Hurricane Hilary will proceed into Southern California by Sunday night, losing wind strength but bringing significant rain to the region. The NWS has issued a tropical storm watch, the first-ever such advisory to cover Southern California, as well as a flood watch.

Del Mar's vice president of racing, Tom Robbins, told Steve Andersen of Daily Racing Form that the track canvassed trainers Thursday about whether horses entered Sunday would start if racing was moved from turf to the main track. He informed Andersen that the track would "have a sense of what we would have if the race comes off the turf." He wil continued to watch the weather and had not yet made any final determinations about racing on Sunday.

Del Mar scheduled a nine-race card for Sunday featuring the $150,000 Solana Beach, a turf mile for California-bred fillies and mares. The Solana Beach is one of four turf races scheduled on the card, including a pair of maiden special weights that drew overflow fields.

As of Friday morning, Hurricane Hilary was located about 360 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It was categorized as a category 4, with sustained winds near 145 mph. The National Weather Service predicts that the storm will lose strength, make landfall in central Baja Calfornia on Saturday night while still hurricane-strength, and be further downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it moves into California.