Where the Turf Meets the Surf…
When we lived in San Diego from 1985 to 1995, one of our favorite things to do as a young family was go to Del Mar Racetrack and bet the ponies. I know, you don’t think that’s the best form of entertainment for a toddler (Darcie) and a baby (Dylan). But back in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s Del Mar was a very family friendly environment. Parking was something like $5 and tickets to the infield were $10 for adults. I think kids were free. We would pack a cooler, beach chairs, kid toys and all the rest. Load it in the red American Flyer wagon and drag it through the tunnel under the track to the grassy infield. We’d find our spot out near the backstretch, layout our blankets and chairs, rub some sunscreen on the kids, and sit back with the Racing Form and a beverage. The kids would romp about with others their age, climbing the Torrey Pine trees, playing tag, and general kid park play. When a turf race was on the card, we would head for the backstretch railing to watch the thoroughbreds roar past almost within reach. You could hear and feel their hooves pounding by.
We got interested in the track because my cousin Jim McBeth worked for the company that audited all para-mutual betting at California racetracks. He would travel to meets at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, Los Alamitos, Bay Meadows, Golden Gate Park and Del Mar. On one of our first trips to the track, he gave us a behind the scenes tour of the inner workings of horse racing. We turned into fans of the sport. During those years we spent multiple days each summer at the track. I was a conservative gambler and stuck to my system of finding a horse with decent odds and betting it across the board. Many times I would win enough to pay for the entire day. We still follow the sport casually and every year I ask Jim for his favorite in the Kentucky Derby and other big races. One day in early May of 2015 I texted him and asked “who do you like in the Derby?”. His reply “American Pharaoh will win the Triple Crown”.
Well, that brings us to this week and specifically Friday, August 5th. I texted Jim the day we arrived in San Diego and asked if he was down in Del Mar for this summer’s meet. I told him we were looking at Friday and reserving a table in the Clubhouse Terrace Restaurant. It didn’t take long for him to get back to me and let me know he would look into it and let me know. He said that I was wise to contact him before buying tickets. He arranged for a table for four and valet parking.
We arrived early and were seated by 3:00 and had cocktails in hand shortly thereafter. Jim stopped by the table and gave me a refresher course in reading the program and racing form. He told us about a new .10 superfecta where you can pick four horses and box them for $2.40. How can you go wrong with that scenario? Pick a couple of favorites and a couple with longer odds, and for $2.40 you might win a couple of hundred. Jim headed back to his office after we had our 1st race tickets in hand.
Just after the 1st race was complete, Jim’s colleague and CFO of Del Mar, Mike Ernst, stopped by our table. After introductions he said “come on, lets go to the paddock”. We got up and followed him down to the steps and out to the paddock. We found ourselves in the middle of the paddock watching the jockeys mount their rides for the 2nd race. Mike told us that the rest of the people with us in the middle of the paddock were the owners and trainers of the horses. We had no idea we were in a credentialed area. We followed the horses out of the paddock toward the track under the grandstand. Mike waited for us to go to the window and place our bets, and upon our return he took us out to the Winner’s Circle. We watched the 2nd race from there and then he explained the process of presenting the winning owners with awards and flowers, and picture taking. There were lots of smiles all around. The 2nd race was a claiming race and we watched as the claiming process unfolded, and the lucky winner of that got to claim the winner “Alleva” for the cool sum of $8,000.
For the rest of the races we tried but failed to pick any significant winners, always finishing just out of the money or with a measly show bet. It helped that the weather was perfect with the marine layer holding off until about the 7th race and 7:00. For the final race Jim came back to the table and we all got up to head to the gift shop. We quickly placed some bets for the 8th and final race. Again I picked a couple of favorites and a couple of long shots in the .10 superfecta. Then I noticed the 8 horse “Spirit of Makena” and said “I’ve been to Makena in Hawaii… I like that horse”, and bet $2 across the board. The morning line odds on Makena were 15-1. After the gift shop we hurried back into the grandstand to watch the final race on the monitor. We watched as Spirit of Makena held off a late charge by One More Bid to win the final race. It was only then that I noticed the odds at post had risen to 40-1. Wow, we won $139.20 and called the day a huge success. It was great catching up with my cousin and taking in some perks courtesy of him and his colleague Mike.
You may ask, where were the kids and grandkids on this day and why weren’t they at the track with us. Well, they traveled up to LA to Universal Studios for a fun filled day with Harry Potter and the rest.
Seems like every day produces another great adventure for the McBeths.
