SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Del Mar Thoroughbred Club canceled its planned Sunday race card Saturday due to safety concerns over the tropical storm that's due to sweep through Southern California this weekend.
"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," DMTC President and COO Josh Rubinstein said.
"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."
Hurricane Hilary was still moving up the coast of Baja California, and while it is expected to weaken to a tropical storm before it reaches Southern California, heavy rain and high winds are still anticipated across the region Sunday into Monday, possibly beginning as early as late Saturday.
It's just the second time in the track's 84-year history that racing has been canceled due to weather. In 2019, a Thanksgiving Day card was called off ahead of a projected storm.
Del Mar officials do not plan to schedule a make-up day, but instead will work in many of the planned races on different days over the coming weeks.
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