Clubhouse Terrace Del Mar Racetrack

Wow, so fun, so elegant. Reminds me of the scene in Pretty Woman where they are at the Polo track and women are dressed up and wearing really fund and whacky hats. Everything from the food to the ease of betting was so easy and so much fun. Cant wait to go again!

Fist Fght and Loud Drunk People ruined what would have been a beautiful day at the track. Every year we go with a group of friends and family for a day at the Del Mar races. Unfortunately, on August 11th the day was ruined by loud, obnoxious, drunk people who started a huge fistfight in the wagering line. There were women and children and innocent people's safety put in jeopardy. And NO SECURITY to be seen! It took 5-10 minutes for any Security to arrive! Very scary and very poor response by security. The lines were so long and we got shut out for 2 of the races because the lines were so long. We have never seen this in all the decades we have been coming here. We sit in a reserved seating area and we all had to be constantly trying to keep people without reservations from sitting in our seats. They need to have better monitoring and definitely need way better security! What a shame, this used to be a classy place.

I am so disappointed with my experience yesterday at the track. Bought a table for the four of us for . The waitress and food were fine. The wagering part was awful!!! I have been going to Del Mar since 1978 and never experienced the long/slow lines to place a bet. In my years there I had only got shut down 1x at the window but yesterday 2x and barely made it two other times. I was not alone everyone I spoke to in line felt similar. It's obvious the trend is going to machine betting in one area I saw 7 machines and only 4 open windows I even went up a level and saw the same long lines. Del Mar get your act back together and make the experience fun again. We were seated East Grill stretch run table 17. I come almost every year for my birthday

Opening Day 2024 at the Del Mar race track in Del Mar was the event not to miss. Tickets were sold out but I was among the lucky ones to get an invite entry into the Turf Club, where the dress code is enforced, jackets required for men! And if you're like me and don't want to put more miles on your Louboutins, Valet parking was available for a fee of course. It was my third time at Del Mar race track but my first time at Opening Day, which is the first race on the season. Del Mar race track is beautiful, with the beach nearby, the weather was cooler with marine layer clouds, perfect for the horses. The racing guide and other reading programs with expert's daily picks can help you decide on which horses to place your bet on. Betting combinations always fascinated me: Exactas, Boxed, Trifectas, Win, Place, Show, Quinella and Superfecta are just examples, but there are more exotic wagering combinations lol Make sure you walk down to the area known as the paddock, where the horses, trainers and staffers prep the horses before the jockeys mount the horse. You can admire the horses closer and notice any unique qualities that can sway you into wagering a bet on that horse. When I see a horse make eye contact with Me and actually wink at Me, I will place a bet on that horse to win, lol...sometimes I actually win! Other times, I take into consideration many factors: the horse's winning track record, who the trainer is, whether it will have a winning jockey, and whether I like the colors the horse and jockey are sporting. The point is, there is No exact formula to chose a winner, anything is possible, even Long shots with unfavorable odds can take the win. It's fun to see the spectacular Hat Contest. Hats are creatively designed and decorated flamboyantly with colors and materials to match the wearer's personality. There are many areas that serve food and drinks. The Turf Club and The Club House are both restaurant style with servers. There are other areas that are food stands that offer casual food and drinks. On big events like Opening Day, it was so crowded everywhere and service was a tad slow even at the turf club : Once we got our food and drinks, Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler!! Whether is Opening Day or not, a day at the Del Mar Racetrack is worth a visit. Recommend!

First time experiencing Opening Day at Del Mar Racetrack! Every year I would see opening day on the local news and admire the hats and outfits, so I finally made the effort and bought tickets a few months in advance. The woman on the phone was patient and helpful as I had no idea where to sit or how it all worked. WE ARRIVED EARLY We arrived at 11:30am about 2.5 hours in advance of the first race. Traffic and parking was a breeze at this time. Parking was $15 in 2024 . This gave us time to park, walk to the entrance, check out the hats and outfits, walk around, take photos, visit the gift shop and decide on food options before we took our seats in the stands. There were a few protesters on the parking lot perimeter, which made things slightly uncomfortable. FOOD AND DRINK If you 're budget or health conscious, I would advise bringing your own pack lunch, which I wish we 'd done. The sit down restaurant was full. It was a little tough finding the different walk up counters that served food as they 're sporadically spread out throughout the buildings. Pizza was $14 for a SLICE. We paid $17 for a turkey sandwich and $15 for a beer. We ate our sandwiches out of the plastic container in the stands. We later went to buy a soft serve ice cream, but unfortunately the machine was broken. : THE RACES The actual races are kind of boring. It 's a bit like a ride at an amusement park you wait a long time in between for a quick burst of excitement. The time between races can be spent people watching, eating, drinking, placing bets or retrieving your winnings. We placed small $2 $5 bets at the windows with the real tellers, which could be very time consuming, waiting, as lines were long. I believe you could also make bets at self serve machines or on the phone app, but we felt intimidated by that. When I bet money on races, the horses would lose, but when I did it 'for fun ', not betting money, the horses won. Figures! DO YOUR RESEARCH I would advise you do a bit of research into horse betting before you go, so you know the difference between 'Place ' and 'Show ', etc. and how to tell the teller your bet. i.e., Horse number, race number, etc. It would be nice if they explained this in the booklet. HOW LONG TO STAY? We stayed for 9 races, which was over the span of approximately 4.5 hours. You can leave after one race or stay all the way til the end. Eleven races when we were there . Exiting the racetrack parking lot and getting to the freeway was easy at around 6:30pm. A ONE TIME BUCKET LIST EVENT FOR ME It was quite the spectacle seeing everyone dressed up and an experience to say we 've been, but I don 't feel the need to go to opening day again. It was also quite pricey at around $80 a ticket, $15 for parking and expensive food and drink. Not to mention the betting, where sky 's the limit! It 's honestly one big booze fest with a bunch of pretty people. I can 't imagine the drunks on the road afterwards. If you 've never been, it 's definitely a San Diego bucket list item.