Del Mar Thoroughbred Club "posted lower average numbers for its second fall meet" that ended this past Sunday, according to Jeff Nahill of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Del Mar last year "had 15 days of racing, but that was increased to 20 this year due to do Santa Anita not hosting the Breeders’ Cup." Daily handle was down 5.2% ($10.3M to $9.7M) and on-track attendance was down 14.6% (9,055 to 6,180). Track President & CEO Joe Harper said, "You don’t see a lot of Arizona and Texas license plates in the parking lot at this time of the year. The tourists are gone. This is a locals meet. That’s the reality." Harper noted that when he first started in track management at Santa Anita and the Oak Tree meet started running in the fall, it "took five years to catch on." Harper: "Our biggest hurdle at Del Mar is that our summer meet is very visible. People make summer plans to be here." He added that ad buys in print and radio/TV "aren’t the issue and he believes the meet will improve each year." Harper also "doesn’t want anyone feeling sorry for Del Mar." He said, "We’re making money. We’re one of the few (tracks) in town on television at this time of the year" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 12/1). DAILY RACING FORM's Jay Privman wrote Del Mar's fall meet experienced "not quite the worst of times," but "certainly a drop off." An earlier start "was expected to help generate business because it coincided with the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland." But instead of a "spike in handle and attendance that first weekend, the opposite happened," as big players "largely stayed away from the track to concentrate playing the Breeders’ Cup from home. The first week’s slow business, plus the "lack of a blockbuster day like last year’s Hollywood Derby -- when 21,889 came out to see California Chrome -- were contributing factors." Harper said that Del Mar VP/Marketing Craig Dado "is urging a new approach." Harper: "From a business standpoint we have to make adjustments" (DRF.com, 11/30).
