DEL MAR: Racing season gets under way

By RUTH MARVIN WEBSTER - Staff writer | Thursday, July 17, 2008 10:48 AM PDT ∞

DEL MAR ---- Del Mar's racing season kicked off in high style Wednesday afternoon, with plenty of glitz and glamour to go around.

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It could only be opening day at the West Coast's top horse-racing event, with so many crumpled copies of the Racing Form, margarita shakers, and elegant women teetering in high heels and wide-brimmed hats.

Turnout was expected to top 40,000.

"We tried to come early, but I think the traffic was worse then," said Rancho Santa Fe resident Tori Shrader, who enjoyed lunch with daughters Mari Beth and Katie at the Thoroughbred Club before the first race.

Gridlock along Interstate 5 leading up to the Del Mar Fairgrounds, where the races are held, was so bad in the morning that authorities issued a traffic alert. However, traffic had eased as post time arrived at 2 p.m.

By noon, Bob Cenzer, an entrepreneur from San Clemente, and his friends had already made their bets, with plenty of time left to check out the hats at the annual One and Only Truly Fabulous Hats Contest.

"There's nothing better than opening day," Cenzer said with a wide grin. "This place brings me to a higher state of consciousness ---- the hats are cool and the women are hot."

Now in its 14th year, the hat contest drew nearly 450 contestants in four categories: Most Glamorous, Best Racing Theme, Funniest/Most Outrageous and Best Flowers/All Others.

The Best Flowers/All Others category encompasses hats that defy classification, said Julie Sarno, hats contest coordinator at the racetrack.

"The hats are spectacular," Sarno added. "The hardest thing for me is knowing that not every fantastic hat will win a prize. I wish we had 30 to 40 more prizes to give out."

Four members of the media, including North County Times columnist Jeff Frank, were on hand to judge this year. Finalists were announced after the fifth race, with the winners assembled in the Winner's Circle after the sixth race

Lisa Rene Anderson from San Diego won the grand prize ---- a 42-inch television valued at $1,800 ----- as well as the award for Best Racing Theme. Cristall Hasson of La Jolla was judged Most Glamorous; Catherine Wilson of Valley Center won Funniest/Most Outrageous; and Crystal Chessar of San Marcos won Best Flower/All Others.

Entries included hats with flowers (of course), chapeaus with bows, a hat shaped like a bat (the nocturnal flying variety), one topper with a television (fake), and plenty of the colorful straw variety.

First-place winners in each category received a $100 shopping gift card and $300 in prize money. There were also $200 second-place and $100 third-place prize winners in each category.

Wednesday was a great day to wear a hat, with bright sunshine and light ocean breezes at the racetrack, contestants said.

"This is what life is all about," said Ana Flora Royer of Escondido, who has competed in the contest for the last five years. "This event is so colorful and exciting. People come with all sorts of hats."

Royer designed her purple hat with African orchids, white hydrangeas, roses and sequined butterflies.

"I always choose bright colors for my hats," she said, adding that a woman's carriage may be as important as the creation itself.

"How you hold yourself," she said. "That is what takes you to the winner's circle."

Royer should know. She has been a finalist three times at Del Mar and came in second place in the hat contest at the Kentucky Derby.

This year's race season runs from July 16 through Sept. 3, with racing daily except Tuesdays.