The Yellow Ribbon, contested at 1 1/4 miles on turf, counted Eclipse Champion Turf Female honorees Estrapade (1985), Brown Bess (1989) and Golden Apples (Ire) (2002) among its winners from its 1977 start to 2010. The Palomar, a Del Mar fixture since 1945, is carded at 1 1/16 miles on turf. Only Kilijaro and Tranquility Lake have won both the Yellow Ribbon and the Palomar in their original incarnations. “The Palomar is exactly the same race; it remains a Grade 2,” Robbins said. “All we’re doing is renaming it and adding another $100,000 to the purse which Oak Tree came up with. Santa Anita is in the process of changing the names on some of its races for the fall meet. It will have a
mainland Sunday and drive to Del Mar for the races bearing Oak Tree names that start on Monday. If the Oak Tree brand showing up on new and old races during the Del Mar meet is taken as a reminder or message to Southern California horsemen and fans that the association is still a viable entity with designs on being part of the future, that is “precisely” the desired effect, Chillingworth said. “Some day, the next two or three years, we hope to get back into our normal (routine), racing six weeks a year,” he said. “We’re still involved in legislation in Sacramento regarding poker and sports betting,” Chillingworth said. “One of these days, Hollywood Park’s property is going to be developed,
Grade 1 for fillies and mares, but it won’t be called the Yellow Ribbon.” Lou Rowan, a founding father of the Oak Tree Racing Association along with Dr. Jack Robbins and Clement L. Hirsch, is credited with naming a race which for many years served as the closing-week highlight of the meet. Rowan was no doubt inspired by the 1973 hit “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” by Dawn, featuring Tony Orlando, which was the top-selling single in the United States that year. Chillingworth and his wife plan to attend the wedding of his nephew in the Hawaiian Islands on Friday, August 31. They will catch a red-eye flight from Kona on Saturday evening to be back on the
the spring (racing) dates will open and we hope to get back to our regular six weeks.” Oak Tree was the host association for Breeders’ Cup events in 1986, 1993, 2003, 2008 and 2009 during the 40-year period in which it leased the Santa Anita facility to run its fall meet. The good will thus established could be valuable the next time racing’s fall championship returns to Southern California. But principals for both groups emphasize that a longsought-after Breeders‘ Cup at Del Mar would be entirely under the auspices of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. For now, the named races serve to solidify the relationship.
The Many Facets of Del Mar
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PADDOCK 2012
OAKTREE RACING ASSOCIATION