If you have horse sense, try one of these hats

By: ERIC BREIER - Staff Writer | Saturday, July 21, 2007 11:40 PM PDT ∞

www.horsehats.com -- There's never really an end to the horse racing season. They just pack up and head to the next meet. But you won't find a better six-week stretch than the one that started Wednesday at Del Mar.

A gorgeous view, a nice ocean breeze, winning some money using daily picks from NCT horse racing guru Jeff Nahill. What more could you want? OK, a little less traffic on I-5 and a few more winners from Nahill (some would say a single winner from Nahill would be nice, but we won't go there). But other than that, it doesn't get much better than a day at Del Mar.

Thanks to the folks at www.horsehats.com, you can enjoy Del Mar in style. The company produces hats honoring the sport's true stars --- the thoroughbreds. You won't find every horse here ---- the site only produces hats with permission from owners ---- but there are enough choices to keep you in a different hat for the next four years of Del Mar meets.

And these hats are much more practical than some of the monstrosities you saw at opening day.

Cool stuff

< Give the folks at horsehats.com credit, they have links to just about every horse racing site of interest out there. Plus, they have lots of great information on handicapping, thoroughbreds, even owning a racehorse. About the only thing missing is Mr. Ed.

< The site sells much more than hats. You can get horse books, horse books for children, horse magazines, horse posters, toy horses. The list never seems to end. Bubba Blue from "Forrest Gump" didn't have this much shrimp. Oh, and the hats aren't bad, either.

Check at the door

< The "Talk to Barbaro" area where people write messages to the late thoroughbred is a little creepy. Why not just hold a seance?

The grade

The site is great for the casual horse racing fan, while the hardcore fan should love the thoroughbred gear. It gets four out of five mouses.

Staff writer Eric Breier has put a Silver Charm hat at the top of his birthday wish list. He can be reached at ebreier@nctimes.com.

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