Fair Cancellation Could Mean Earlier Del Mar Stabling

The COVID-19-related cancellation of this summer's San Diego County Fair, usually conducted on the grounds of Del Mar, could allow for earlier racehorse stabling at the seaside track prior to its scheduled meeting opening July 18.

The annual fair was set to take place from June 5 through July 5, with track officials needing about a week's time following its conclusion to ready the Del Mar facility and racetrack for horses to ship onto the grounds.

Currently, there is no afternoon racing in California due to Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields being shuttered by their relative local health departments as a COVID-19 precaution, though horses continue to stable and train there and at other locations in the state. For a short period, both tracks were running without spectators, as Los Alamitos Race Course is continuing to do for evening racing of Quarter Horses and lower-level Thoroughbreds under the approval of a different health department, one regulating Orange County.

Both Golden Gate and Santa Anita are seeking health department authorization to continue their meets behind closed doors before racing is scheduled to shift to other California venues this summer. In Southern California, Santa Anita's meet runs through June 21 before Los Alamitos runs a short afternoon Thoroughbred season from June 26-July 5. The Los Alamitos meet precedes the one at Del Mar.

Opening the Del Mar stable area earlier than usual could provide a degree of relief from the summer heat for Southern California horses and backstretch personnel. Summer temperatures are typically cooler at Del Mar, located along the beach approximately 20 miles north of San Diego, than at Santa Anita in Arcadia and other Southern California racing and training venues.

"Our number one concern is the horses, the care of the horses, and the people that take care of the horses," said Tom Robbins, executive vice president of racing and industry relations at Del Mar.

Planning sessions for the summer meet are ongoing between Del Mar officials and other California interests, including with horsemen's groups and state and local authorities.

"We've got some time and we're putting together various plans, again communicating with everybody and trying to make certain that we can do what some tracks are currently doing, if need be, race without fans," he said. "If that's allowed then that's what we're looking to do. And if we can have fans, then that's a different structure."

A release of the track's stakes schedule is on hold, pending a resumption of racing in California and much of the country that would allow racetracks to replot their major races.