Del Mar Cancels Nov. 21 Card Due to Forecast Rain
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Julious wins the first race of the summer meet at Del Mar
Due to projections of rain next week in San Diego, Calif., Del Mar has announced that its Nov. 21 race card has been cancelled. This action was due to “an abundance of caution,” the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club said in a Nov. 15 release, as forecast precipitation could have resulted in a muddy main track and soft turf course.
Entries for next Thursday’s card were scheduled to be taken Nov. 16.
Del Mar said after consulting with industry stakeholders, including the Thoroughbred Owners of California and its regulator, the California Horse Racing Board, about the cancellation all parties agreed the move provided for the safest possible racing environment.
“We know this is unusual for Del Mar,” said DMTC’s executive vice president for racing Tom Robbins, “but equine and rider safety is always our primary concern. We’ll make a call next week as to whether or not we’ll have training on Wednesday and Thursday. We plan on drawing entries for next Friday’s card (Nov. 22) this Sunday and we’ll race, weather permitting.”
The cancellation comes at a time when tracks in California are cautiously handling when to race during periods of inclement weather. Persistent rain that led to training and racing over sealed racetracks has been considered a possible factor that led to a spike in equine fatalities early this year during the wet winter months at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia.