It's a very casual, laid-back atmosphere. Another advantage is the brevity of the racing season - Del Mar only operates 43 days a year. That's not really true, but it's what they like to believe. He's helped us become one of the most sucessful racetracks in the country. If you look at the top racetracks around the country, they all tend to have a short season, so it's more a happening, an event.
People come here for that short period of time, and they plan their vacations around it.
Movie stars are no exception. Stories abound about frequent visits by legendary actors such as Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, Betty Grable, Micky Rooney and, perhaps too frequently, comedian Jimmy Durante, who reportedly lost money more often than he told jokes. One of the challenges of running a racetrack on the West Coast is the glut of well-known tracks that stretch down the East Coast. There is competition for some of the major figures in Thoroughbred racing. We do get some ship-ins for big races, though.