The Del Mar Turf Club has built its reputation on the equine celebrities that have graced this seaside racetrack since its 1937 opening, with names like Seabiscuit, American Pharoah, and Zenyatta among the winners of its signature races. Located 75 miles from Los Angeles, the track’s proximity to the Pacific Ocean and Southern California’s idyllic climate has also made Del Mar a destination for famed actors, musicians, and more throughout the decades.

Founded by actor/singer Bing Crosby and businessman William Quigley, Del Mar has capitalized on its Hollywood connections and built a playground fit for racing fans of all stripes, each seeking the chance to enjoy a day “where the turf meets the surf.”

Sunny Starts

The history of film in the United States originates not in California, but in late 19^th century New York, Chicago, and New Jersey, where Thomas Edison and others created both filmmaking and sound technology that gave rise to this new artform.

Quigley, Crosby, and O'Brien at Del Mar (Courtesy of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club)

Those more developed areas proved to have fewer advantages for early motion picture studios, who then sought locations with ample space and labor, ideal weather, and a variety of landscapes. The area around Los Angeles had all of those advantages and soon became synonymous with this new industry.

Horse racing in California began decades earlier, with the first racetrack built at Pleasanton in 1858, but a 1909 gambling ban chilled the sport and forced the closure of racetracks like Elias “Lucky” Baldwin’s Santa Anita near Los Angeles. Racing survived on a small scale thanks to a series of fair meetings until 1933 when the state approved pari-mutuel wagering as a means of generating tax revenue during the Great Depression. That cleared the way for a new Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. to open Christmas Day 1934. Bay Meadows and a revamped Tanforan soon followed, expanding the sport into Northern California.

With its proximity to Hollywood and the film and musical talent that called Los Angeles home, Santa Anita Park attracted its share of celebrities, including Bing Crosby, the singer and actor best known for movies like “White Christmas” and the “Road To” film series with comedian Bob Hope. Soon, Bing’s interest in racing led him to build a stable of his own and inspired him to take his interest in the sport to a new level.

Famous Friends

William Quigley had built on his time as a football player and coach and developed a lucrative career as a stockbroker based in La Jolla, Calif. His love for horse racing led to a part-time job as a steward at Santa Anita Park, where he met Crosby. The nascent race meets at the newly built Del Mar Fairgrounds near San Diego gave Quigley an idea: why not build a modern racetrack à la Santa Anita just yards from the Pacific Ocean?

Actor Gary Cooper (Public Domain/Paramount Pictures)

Quigley approached Crosby with his idea and soon not only was the famed crooner interested in the proposition but so were a few of his famous friends.

The inaugural board of the Del Mar Turf Club included Crosby, Quigley, actor Pat O’Brien (“Angels With Dirty Faces”; “Knute Rockne, All American”), comedian Oliver Hardy (of the film duo Laurel and Hardy), actor/director Lloyd Bacon, and Bing’s brother Everett.

Over the next year, more familiar faces joined the effort, including actor Gary Cooper, vaudeville star Joe E. Brown, Oscar winner Clark Gable, dancer George Raft, Seabiscuit’s owner Charles Howard and his son Lindsey.

Despite the star power behind the project, funding for the new track was slow in coming; Crosby spent much of 1936 raising money while also recording new music and starring in the film “Pennies from Heaven.” Though the board raised enough to sign the $100,000 lease for the track’s location in December 1936, both O’Brien and Crosby had to put up $600,000 against their own life insurance policies to ensure that construction would continue with a goal of opening in early July 1937.

A Star-Studded Story  

A day at the races is a chance to socialize as much as it is a sporting event, so attracting their celebrity friends was a piece of cake for the famous names behind the new racetrack.

Crosby welcomes fans to Del Mar at the gate. (Courtesy of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club)

On July 3, 1937, Bing Crosby himself manned Del Mar’s main gate for opening day, welcoming in the 15,000 on hand for that first card. Actress Barbara Stanwyck presented the trophy for the Inaugural Handicap while Oliver Hardy served as honorary steward. Actresses Bette Davis and Una Merkel shared a table in the clubhouse and Bing’s friend Bob Hope joined vaudeville legends Joe Frisco and Jimmy Durante and comedian Red Skelton for an evening program celebrating California’s newest racing hub.

Even with all of that star power behind it, Del Mar needed time to find its footing. Crosby partnered with songwriters Jimmy Monaco and Johnny Burke to create the song “Where the Turf Meets the Surf” as a marketing tool for the seaside racing venue in 1938. The track also capitalized on its Hollywood connections with events like Motion Picture Day that same year. The day’s card featured races named for the film industry, including the Screenwriters, the Cameramen, and the Directors Stakes. Screenwriter and frequent Frank Capra collaborator Robert Riskin won the Motion Picture Handicap with Dogaway, while Clark Gable and wife Carole Lombard, whose own stardom dated back to the silent era, were second with Claracole.

Over the decades since its 1937 opening, Del Mar has played host to a long list of famed actors, musicians, and more. Lucy and Desi Arnaz were often seen in the clubhouse enjoying a day at the races. Burt Bacharach indulged his love of horses along with second wife, Angie Dickinson, while “National Velvet” and “The Black Stallion” star Mickey Rooney would fly his Piper Cub from Los Angeles to San Diego to take in a race or two. Screen siren Betty Grable said that one advantage of buying a house on the beach at Del Mar was that she had easy access to the nearby racetrack. Barbara Stanwyck’s fondness for the sport led her to buy a nearby ranch, where she bred Thoroughbreds throughout the 1940s.

With the Breeders’ Cup returning to Del Mar once again in 2024, those two days of championship racing are not only a chance to watch the equine celebrities on the track but also an opportunity to spot a few famous names in the stands as well, a popular pastime “where the turf meets the surf.”