Seven-week party ready to roll

The 36-day summer party at Del Mar begins Wednesday.

For many fans, the sevenweek meeting, which lasts through Labor Day, is the highlight of the racing year – a chance to escape to the beach in northern San Diego County for top-class racing and an atmosphere unlike any other venue in the United States. Credit the time of year and brief meet for making Del Mar an annual destination for racing fans.

Opening day is likely to draw the largest crowd of the meeting: Track officials expect a figure close to the 34,128 that attended last year. That figure was down from the 40,000-plus that attended opening day annually from 2005 to 2016.

“So much of it is walk-up,” track president Josh Rubinstein said of the opening day audience.

“Ticket sales have been strong. We’ve got some powerful momentum from last year.”

Some fans avoid the Wednesday program and instead focus on opening weekend, or Pacific Classic Day on Aug. 18, or the closing weekend, which is loaded with stakes.

The meeting has five Grade 1 races, led by the track’s richest race – the $1 million Pacific Classic. There are 41 stakes at the meeting worth $7.3 million; 21 are graded.

The leading participants are familiar faces on the circuit. Flavien Prat led all riders at the summer and fall meetings at Del Mar last year and has been in outstanding form this year at Santa Anita. Tyler Baze, Rafael Bejarano, Joe Talamo, and Drayden Van Dyke are among the riders trying to dethrone Prat.

Trainers Richard Baltas and Phil D’Amato tied for first last summer and bring massive stables this year to compete against colleagues Bob Baffert, Jerry Hollendorfer, Peter Miller, and Doug O’Neill, who also are all poised for big seasons.

Entries are strong for the first two days, with 104 horses in 10 races on Wednesday and 79 in eight races on Thursday. For the meeting, anything less than an average of 8.5 runners per race will be rated a disappointment.

The upcoming season has a slightly different vibe than last year. In 2017, Del Mar hosted the Breeders’ Cup for the first time in November. When the 2017 summer meeting began, preparations were well underway for the Breeders’ Cup. Track officials are angling to host the Breeders’ Cup again.

“We want it, and the Breeders’ Cup wants to come back,” Rubinstein said.

There may be residual benefits of hosting the Breeders’ Cup. Rubinstein and racing officials are hoping the 2017 Breeders’ Cup will lead some owners and trainers to consider sending runners to Del Mar for major stakes that in the past they might have sent elsewhere.

“Del Mar is on their radar,” Rubinstein said.

For diehard bettors, there are more wagering options this meet. The track has added an early 50-cent pick four beginning with the second race and a late 50-cent pick five on the final five races. A single winning ticket in the late pick five will pay $500,000 on weekdays and $1 million on weekends and Labor Day.