With Hilary bearing down, Del Mar officials preemptively cancel Sunday’s slate of races

The projected arrival of Hurricane Hilary has led Del Mar officials to preemptively cancel Sunday’s scheduled races.

The track will be closed and all trackside events will be called off, including Daybreak at Del Mar, SDSU FanFest and Taste of the Turf Club. Those with tickets will receive a refund.

No make up day will be scheduled, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club officials said in a news release sent Saturday morning. The cancellation marks just the second time in 84 years that Del Mar has been forced to scratch an event ahead of time because of weather. In 2019, a Thanksgiving Day event was called off ahead of another storm.

“For the safety of everyone involved -- our horses, our riders and all the workers, staff and fans -- we have made the decision to cancel Sunday’s races,” Del Mar president and COO Josh Rubinstein said Saturday morning. “Unfortunately, the forecast calls for substantial rain and winds that appear to be headed our way. We are hopeful this will only be a one-day thing for us, but it is a necessary step we feel we have to take.”

Sunday’s scheduled races, including the $150,000 Solana Beach Stakes for older California-bred fillies and mares, would be added to the final 12 days of the Del Mar season at no more than one a day.

“Horses are not widgets,” Rubinstein told the Union-Tribune’s Bill Center on Friday. “They have schedules and are prepared for certain races on certain dates. We’ll try to work in any lost races where we can. But we won’t add more than one race a day to the existing Saturday and Sunday schedules.”

Saturday’s meeting will go on as scheduled “as long as conditions remain safe,” Del Mar officials said. First post is scheduled for 2 p.m.