If only people knew. Most racetracks that have been dormant for months are easily brought up to speed for in-person meetings with a regular regimen of painting, polishing, and cleaning. If customers are lucky, there might be some physical improvements to the stands, but at least their favorite seats have been washed and the gum has been scrubbed off the floor. Otherwise, let the games begin.
Del Mar faces an entirely different challenge before it can host a summer Thoroughbred race. Every year, from early June through the Fourth of July weekend, the San Diego County Fair controls the land—owned by the State of California—that would otherwise be home to grandstands and vast stables. And by control, I mean that every conceivable corner of the land is devoted to some aspect of the fair.
The main car park becomes a midway, lined with carnival rides that are sure to deliver you freshly roasted lamb, along with games of skill and chance where you can spend large sums of money in pursuit of “winning” carcinogenic stuffed animal toys.
The towering multipurpose buildings to the east of the grandstand house the livestock barn—a converted Noah’s Ark—where pigs, sheep, and prize poultry are unknowingly displayed, sold, and presumably taken away as pets. Sheep smell better than pigs, but perhaps the reader already knows that. I once went to a cat show based in what was also Doug O’Neill’s barn, where Nyquist lived one summer. I was suspiciously watched by the Persians and Siamese and sneezed at for a week.
The main street leading into the grounds—more famously staffed by valet parking attendants during the fair—is lined throughout the fair with food stalls, including deep-fried Oreos and bacon-wrapped pickles, if you’re feeling fancy. A 30-foot-tall ear of corn towers over the lane. Beer trucks arrive early each morning, load up with beer, dump their load, and head out. You can buy anything on a stick. Anything.
Throughout the fair, the stands are devoted to what are loosely referred to as arts and crafts. Art, in the eye of the beholder, means plenty of Pacific oceanscapes, cliffsides and birdscapes, as well as a portfolio of portraits that would put Goya to shame. Crafts range from blown glass (and who doesn’t love that?) to macaroni pieces pasted onto colored cardboard. Everyone gets a ribbon.
During the fair, the dirt oval is sealed and protected as much as possible, although a concert stage is set up on the main track near the finish line to maximize seating capacity. Fortunately, the turf track is sacred ground. Elevated pedestrian walkways keep fairgoers from trampling the turf on their way to the infield activities. Years ago, when the track was expanded for Del Mar’s first Breeders’ Cup, horizontal turf trays were installed at two key points that could be removed to accommodate the vehicles needed to service the infield facilities during the fair. When the fair ends, the turf trays are replaced, with the seams carefully patched and seeded.
“I have to admit I was a little concerned about it when they first came out,” said Tom Robbins, Del Mar’s executive vice president of racing and industry relations. “But you really can’t tell the difference. And it solves the problem of putting any heavy vehicles on the grass, which was a problem in the past.”
Flight route And American Pharaoh live their lives of luxury in the races. The debris left behind is sometimes horrific, but must be dealt with quickly.
Attendance for the 20-day San Diego County Fair in 2024 was reported to be 877,452, a huge strain on infrastructure in a short period of time. The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club’s operators essentially sat idle during the fair, relatively safe from the antics and waiting.
This year, the last day of the fair is July 7. The racetrack opens July 20. The track opens for horses on July 14, and the main track training schedule is scheduled to begin July 17. For those doing the math, that leaves little time for track staff to charge the leaf blowers.
“You have to see it to believe how much this place has changed in the 10 days we’ve had,” said Ann Hall, senior vice president of operations and administration. “It’s only happened because we have so many great people who have been here a long time, and they know every little thing that needs to be done.”
They call it The Turnaround, and every year it’s as meticulously choreographed as a D-Day invasion. After the vendors clear out their booths and rides—most of which are headed to the Orange County Fair—the San Diego County Fair does its part of the cleanup before Del Mar Thoroughbred Club crews are unleashed to plant flowers, refurbish the racetrack, and turn the exhibit halls into stables.
“Of course, we were eager and ready to go, while the fairgoers were exhausted after a long day,” Hall said. “The horse and staff areas were the top priority. Even though there were no actual horses at the end of the fair, we were still disinfecting the stalls and compacting the dirt floors to make them level. We had to move a lot of dirt onto the concrete floors of the exhibition halls before the carpenters came to set up the stalls.”
With the labor of a team of craftsmen, about 300 temporary stables will be completed by Saturday night, before the trucks start rolling through the track gates. At full capacity, the entire track will have about 1,800 horses this summer.
“Then the last thing we do is wash down the customer areas,” Hall added. “Everything will be done and will be great for next Saturday. And if it’s not 100 percent done, we’ll know what’s left and it’ll be done by Sunday.”
