Top Six Reasons Wait for Del Mar, Saratoga is Worse Than All-Star Break

The summer race meetings at Saratoga Race Course (left) and Del Mar are iconic fixtures of summer Thoroughbred racing. (Photos courtesy of Eclipse Sportswire, unless otherwise noted.)
This week is the Major League Baseball All-Star break. Four days off gives most ballplayers time to see family and recharge the batteries. Good for them. But fans are forced to wait four days – yes, four excruciatingly long days – before they get to once again enjoy their favorite team in one of America’s great summer pastimes.
Baseball fans everywhere can take solace in the fact that they are not alone. Racing fans also have a summer wait that seems interminable: the wait for live racing at Saratoga Race Course and Del Mar. Depending on which coast you’re on, nothing can top these summer race meets that epitomize everything great about racing. Not even baseball. Read on to find out the top six reasons why.
6. Food: Baseball has beer, hot dogs, peanuts and Cracker Jack. Del Mar and Saratoga have the Del Margarita and Shake Shack, not to mention a variety of restaurants and food vendors to choose from. They even have food trucks. Worth the wait.
SHAKE SHACK AT SARATOGA

Courtesy of Shake Shack
5. Fashion: Racegoers at Del Mar and Saratoga often dress to the nines, even if they’re not owners expecting to make a trip to the winner’s circle. Suits, dresses, fedoras and fascinators are part of the scene. Baseball’s jerseys and T-shirts are comfortable but not something you look forward to the opportunity to wear, no matter your level of dedication.
FASHION AT DEL MAR

4. Down-time entertainment: Let’s face it. Baseball and horse racing are both sports that have plenty of breaks in the action. With baseball you wait it out in your seat, chatting with friends. Maybe go grab another beer. If you’re lucky they’ll shoot a T-shirt or a hot dog at you. But at the track you’re not only welcome to stroll the grounds with friends, it’s encouraged. Check out the horses in the paddock, place a bet, maybe even do a little people watching. Pick up some grub at an aforementioned food truck. It’s a win-win, even if you’re not cashing tickets.
HORSE WATCHING AT THE SPA

3. Length of wait: Baseball fans only have to wait four days. Racing fans have to wait more than nine months between summer race meets at Del Mar and Saratoga, since they each only run from mid-July to Labor Day. Sure, there’s other great racing in between, and Del Mar even has a November meet now, but it’s not the same. Nine months build enough anticipation to last the whole meet.
2. Location: Baseball’s greatest stadiums are often right in the thick of large cities, fun for a while but certainly not a summer retreat. Del Mar and Saratoga, on the other hand, are just that: a respite from day-to-day life that actually feels like a vacation. Del Mar is steps from the Pacific Ocean, with beach breezes listing through the palm trees. Saratoga is an upstate haven where New Yorkers have long flocked to escape the hustle and bustle and get back to nature. No wonder fans can hardly stand the wait.
PACKED HOUSE AT SARATOGA

1. The action: Racing and baseball are both built around the notion that a few minutes of heart-pounding action are worth the hours of buildup. The potential for a grand slam or triple play are enthralling, and it’s fun to watch an occasional future Hall of Famer. But at Del Mar and Saratoga, only the best horses and jockeys come to race, and there’s fully legal gambling. Winning thousands on a bet or watching a champion dig deep to hold off all challengers is unbridled excitement.
PADDOCK AT DEL MAR

Baseball is as American as apple pie, and the All-Star break is an annual chance to catch your breath and hope your favorite team can make a playoff run in the second half. But American racing’s been around for 350 years and there’s nothing as exhilarating as walking through the gates of Saratoga or Del Mar with the whole summer ahead of you.