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Crazy Hat Season Continues for Del Mar Racetrack's Upcoming Opening Day

When you see ladies in gargantuan hats invade the swanky SoCal beachside town of Del Mar, it means one thing: The Del Mar Racetrack is open for the season. Get ready for an eyeful of head gear that would make even Princess Beatrice's infamous fugly fascinator look tame because racing action starts July 20.

Last year, more than 660,000 people came out for a day at the races. The lovely seaside track becomes the social event of the summer in those parts and tourists flood the area—sometimes for the entire season—just to hang out there.

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Sports Travel / Belmont Stakes / How to Get Tickets To / Horse Racing / Race Tracks / Events / → All Tags

How To Get Tickets To 2011's Belmont Stakes

Unfortunately 2011 will be another year without a Triple Crown winner, as Shackleford was able to beat out Animal Kingdom in the Preakness over the weekend. However, that doesn’t make the Belmont Stakes any less interesting. This year’s race takes place in just about two weeks on Saturday, June 11 in Elmont, New York—that’s right at the base of Long Island. They’ve been running the Belmont Stakes since around 1867, so you know it’s kind of a big deal.

Thankfully there are still plenty of tickets available, but it’s a bummer that they’re only available through Ticketmaster. This means be prepared to spend your drinking money on service fees and convenience charges. The cheapest seats will get you access to the grandstand for just about $25 per person, which is best for those needing to save some cash for a little bit of wagering during the race.

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Last-Minute Kentucky Derby Tickets are Only $40

We're less than a week away from the Kentucky Derby, or as we prefer to think of it this year, the second time in a month when we'll be permitted to wear big, stupid hats (the first being The Royal Wedding). Although it's a tad too late to score the best boxes where the mint juleps come served in proper silver cups, there's plenty of tickets left for the infield, aka general admission, for the big horserace on Saturday, May 7.

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How To Get Tickets To / Kentucky Travel / Sports Travel / Horse Racing / Race Tracks / Kentucky Derby / → All Tags

How To Get Tickets To This Year's Kentucky Derby

The Final Four is over, so it’s time to look forward one of the next big sporting events. The Kentucky Derby is just over a month away, so if you’ve haven’t made plans to get yourself to Churchill Downs now is the time to do so. We’ll let you know how to get tickets and access to the first leg of the Triple Crown, but then we're relying on you to figure out where to buy the appropriate hat.

We always kind of assumed that getting tickets to the Derby was going to be pretty challenging, but it’s actually not too tricky at all. There’s still plenty of seats available too, so no need to resort to hitting the ticket brokers and scalpers in the parking lot.

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See Horses, Crazy Hats and Cougars at SoCal's Del Mar Racetrack

Despite being home to the famed Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs isn't the only racetrack around. The Del Mar Racetrack does it up SoCal style, with a picturesque spot along the coast of Del Mar and fitting activities like a Miss Cougar contest. But that's not to say this track doesn't have serious race roots; Seabiscuit ran here in 1938.

Del Mark kicks off its 71st season on July 21. More than 40,000 are expected to attend opening-day festivities with thoroughbreds racing, an over-the-top crazy hat competition and, of course, to see and be seen.

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Down Under Gears Up For The Melbourne Cup

It might be fall in States, but spring has just sprung up Down Under and we're ready to get out and play at some of the continent's best seasonal festivals. The biggest event this season is definitely the Spring Racing Carnival in Melbourne. You might wonder that a bunch of horse races grabs the attention of so many Aussies and anyone visiting at the time, but the highlight of the carnival—the Melbourne Cup—is correctly dubbed "the race that stops a nation".

And you don't have to know the slightest thing about horses to get involved. Come next Tuesday afternoon, you won't be able to get service in any shop in Australia as everybody will have their eyes glued to the TV to watch the Melbourne Cup race. Over 100,000 people attend the race in person, and most of them get dressed up either in their best dress or a crazy costume; like at the Kentucky Derby, the most important thing is to have a great hat.

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Opening Today At The Del Mar Race Track: Thoroughbred Races, Big Hats

It's that time of year again, when the Del Mar Race Track opens for the season. The gorgeous race track, built along the even more gorgeous Del Mar coast, is open starting this afternoon through September 9th.

In contrast to some other Southern California tracks we could name *cough* Santa Anita *cough*, Del Mar has a reputation for cultivated classiness. There is an entire site specifically set aside for Scenester Events, with categories like "Lifestyle," "Fashion," and "Wine & Dine." They also emphasize that the race track is a frequent destination for local celebrities.

The track is also very careful to sell itself as a family destination. The first Sunday of this season is a "Family Fun Day" that includes a plush toy giveaway. The subsequent Saturday has a demure microbrew festival and a chili cookoff.

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Kentucky Derby / Horse Racing / Paris Hilton / Tom Brady / Brooke Shields / → All Tags

Paris Hilton Does Kentucky

The Kentucky Derby may not be a huge draw for average joes this year, but it's still reeling in A-listers.

Well, at least the Derby-eve party on Friday night is. The notorious Barnstable Brown bash is hosted by Louisville's locally-famous socialite twin sisters Priscilla Barnstable and Tricia Barnstable Brown, in their opulent mansion in the tony Bonnycastle neighborhood. The 21-year-old fiesta has made enough of a mark on the socialite set that it even draws celebs who don't bother to stick around for the race.

In addition to Hilton, Tom Brady, Brooke Shields, and Kid Rock will be among the boldface names at the twins' house. For the first time this year, the bash will be followed by an after-party at the Sports and Social Club, a brand new downtown club, so there could be a chance to get in some late-night celeb-sightings.

Related Stories:
· Kentucky Derby 2009 Barnstable-Brown gala guest list [Courier-Journal]
· Where to Make Your Own Last-Minute Kentucky Derby Hat [Jaunted]
· Kentucky Derby Tickets Still Available, Compliments of The Recession [Jaunted]

[Photo: casaroger]

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Where to Make Your Own Last-Minute Kentucky Derby Hat

With the Kentucky Derby only three days away, we're darn sure that milliners within 100 miles of Churchill Downs are working overtime to craft last minute hats and add extra feathers for optimum flash.

Observing the parade of outrageous headgear at the Derby and downing a few Mint Juleps is as much a part of the spectacle as the horse race itself. In these economic times, noting that a spectacular hat typically ranges from $150 to $500, we fully expect more women to take to crafting their own brims or even redecorating last year's masterpiece. For this, we turn to Dee's Crafts in Louisville.

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Kentucky Derby Tickets Still Available, Compliments of The Recession

This may not come as much of a shock, but we can add horse racing to the list of things getting battered by the recession.

We're just three weeks away from the Sport of Kings' biggest day, but this year's Kentucky Derby appears to less of a hot commodity than in years past. WHAS Louisville reports:

Normally, you'd have a hard time finding a hotel room in Louisville for Derby. But not this year. Some of the area's most popular hotels still have vacancies….Those who normally shell out thousands of dollars to attend the Kentucky Derby are scaling back their spending. What’s the main reason? The Derby is an event often referred to in the industry as an "incentive event", like the Super Bowl or Final Four, something given as a reward to companies' top employees or customers.

Ahhh, so that's who was always able to afford things like the $1,900 infield suite two-day package. But, even if your boss isn't putting you up in fancy digs for the May 2 Derby, the race is still doable on a much smaller budget: $40 general admission tickets are still available.

Related Stories:
· Kentucky Derby [Official Site]
· Hotels, restaurant reservations and Derby tickets still available in troubled economy [WHAS]
· Kentucky Derby Hotels [HotelChatter]

[Photo: Velo Steve]

Summer Travel / Beer / Beer Festivals / Horse Racing / → All Tags

Back of the Envelope Travel Guide: The Del Mar Scene

When you think of horse racing you immediately think of the big guys like the Kentucky Derby or the Belmont. Or maybe you just picture grumpy old guys bickering over horses and swapping stories.

But at the Del Mar Racetrack and Fairgrounds, outside of San Diego, there's so much going on that they call it the Del Mar Scene.

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Adventures of Link: Triple Crown Travel

Now that Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby, it's time to plan your future racing excursions. Next up on the calendar is the Preakness Stakes, run in Baltimore on May 17. The final leg of the three-race series is the Belmont Stakes, which takes over Elmont, New York on June 7.

It's totally possible to just head to the track and enjoy these events, though there isn't quite as much pomp and circumstance as there is at the Derby. Still, lots of people will be dressed to the nines and there's always tons of betting at horse races. (Yay, betting!) And for $25 at the Preakness and $10 at the Belmont, the races are some of the cheapest sports tickets around.

Related Stories:
· The Preakness [Official Site]
· Belmont Park and the Belmont Stakes [Official Site]
· Attending the Preakness [ESPN]
· Attending the Belmont Stakes [ESPN]
· Sports Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of the Belmont ticket booths: JGNY]