I had the pleasure of being one of the celebrity hat judges for Del Mar Thoroughbred Club opening day at the races. Last season I was one of the hat judges for a mid-season event they held but hadn’t yet experienced opening day’s hat contest. I didn’t know it was this bananas! There were literally hundreds of entrants with creative, crazy, clever handmade head pieces. It seems to me that opening day at Del Mar Racing is considered a holiday in San Diego and pretty much everyone took the day off to attend.
Narrowing down the hat contestants was tricky but we did it! The categories consisted of:Â Best Racing Theme, Best Fascinator, Funniest/Most Outrageous, Most Glamorous and Best Flowers/All Other.
What really put a smile on my face for the day was seeing everyone dressed up from head-to-toe, especially the men. Most of the guys had great style and of course the ladies did as well. I went with a classic vintage Panama hat (made for men) loaned to me by Le Chauvinist in La Jolla. I like the juxtaposition of feminine and masculine with my personal style with a hint of vintage.
It was such a treat to see many of my friends at opening day and being able to have lunch with most of them at Il Palio restaurant on the 6th floor above the Turf Club.
My lovely news gals and fellow hat judges for opening day.
One of my besties, Kimi Evans weather anchor CBS 8 morning news.
This guy was all over the track with his elaborate racetrack head piece.
My date and his first time experiencing Del Mar’s opening day.
The winners of each category and in the middle, grand prize winner goes to the yellow/orange flower lady.
Del Mar race season runs until September 7, 2015 so make sure to look at the calendar of events, there’s a lot happening! For more info visit online https://www.dmtc.com/.