DEL MAR FALL MEET

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club set the tone early on at a fall meeting that was equal parts throwback to Hollywood and the track that Bing Crosby and Pat O’Brien built.

Old tunes hearkened back to the days when movie stars used the beach and the seaside track as their getaway playground. But on the track, it was all business as horsemen continually raved about the vibe and the flavor of the meeting.

“This meet really has been a happy surprise to all of us,” Del Mar President and CEO Joe Harper said. “We really weren’t sure what was going to happen. For those of us who were here in 1967 and saw that disaster, this has been super. The racing has been good. The crowds have been good.

“I said going into this thing that I would be the happiest guy in the world if we did anywhere half what we did in the summer, and that was what we did. I’m happy. This kind of meet is one you build on.”

Attendance wasn’t great (an average of 9,055 on track), but it was good and certainly better than the last years of Hollywood Park (an increase of 187 percent over similar dates in Inglewood). The horse racing couldn’t have been better, and the handle reflected the professionalism day in and day out. Bettors wagered an average of $10.4 million, which was a 15 percent increase over Hollywood Park.

Here are four take-aways from the 2014 Del Mar Bing Crosby Season:

1 It couldn’t have been safer for riders and horses as the 15 days of racing went without one horse fatality. What a contrast to the summer meeting when 16 horses died.

Next summer, the turf course will be even better. It was apparent when trainer Art Sherman and owners Steve Coburn and Perry Martin — the California Chrome connections — decided to race their prize Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner on the grass. It already had been getting getting rave reviews by jockeys and trainers alike. For Chrome to come back on it and re-establish himself as the top candidate for Horse of the Year coincided with the comeback Del Mar had from its tough summer.

“California Chrome was a storybook ending,” said Harper of Saturday’s winner of the Grade I Hollywood Derby. “Some horses just have it like Zenyatta. (Chrome) is a crowd-pleasing horse. They don’t come along very often. It made my meet.”

2 Peter Miller’s home track advantage is something with which other trainers are going to have to deal. Miller lives in Carlsbad, trains his horses at San Luis Rey Downs and now has won back-to-back meetings at Del Mar. He took the fall meeting solo and tied Jerry Hollendorfer this past summer.

“This is a dream come true,” said Miller before Sunday’s final race as he recorded 15 winners, five more than the runner-up. “I’m sorry it’s ending. The horses ran well and the team worked hard.”

3 Victor Espinoza hadn’t won a riding title at Del Mar since 2006, but he won the fall meeting after having what he termed the best year of his career. He won his second Kentucky Derby and Preakness and lost the Belmont for the second time after having gate issues with his mount.

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