Joe Harper

Bill Strauss and Bret Jones have both been named to the Board of Directors of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. The two, who are the first new members added to the board since three members were added in 2018, bring the total number of current board members to 11. "We've made ourselves better and stronger with the addition of these two fine gentlemen," said board member and Del Mar CEO Joe Harper. "When you can pick up a pair of individuals who love racing and have rich histories in the...

The Del Mar summer meet, always a hot attraction in Southern California, could not have gone much better this year. The stand set records for average daily handle and average field size, and crucially, recorded zero racing or training fatalities, the fourth stakes Del Mar meet with no racing breakdowns. Tuesday, Del Mar CEO Joe Harper joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland as the Green Group Guest of the Week to talk about how the track has become the gold standard for racehorse safety, what the future looks...

Joe Harper joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss the close of a Del Mar meet marked by a perfect safety record and record handle.

Highlighted by the buzz around Flightline (Tapit)'s stellar GI TVG Pacific Classic performance in the track's signature event, Del Mar had record wagering and field size for the 31-day summer meet that ended Sunday, as well as a continued excellent safety record for the fourth consecutive year. There were no catastrophic injuries among 2,688 starters in the meet's 294 races. The 83rd summer meet at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC) set new records for average daily handle with $18.69 million a day, an increase of 1.5% from last year's $18.41...

Craig Dado, a member of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club's executive staff for the past 20 years, is leaving the organization to pursue other opportunities. Dado, 54, a Northern California native, has been a Del Mar executive vice president and its chief marketing officer since 2013. He joined the company in 2001 as vice president of marketing, then in 2010 was named senior vice president before assuming his current role. Prior to coming on board at Del Mar, Dado had begun his racing career at Santa Anita Park in 1991...

Del Mar rounded out its 2021 racing calendar Dec. 5 with the conclusion of its eighth Bing Crosby Season following its successful fall and summer meets. Between them, the pair totaled a combined final wagering mark of $943.49 million, a record for the seaside oval. Among highlights this season, the oval saw the return of racing fans, healthy purses in addition to hosting another record-setting Breeders' Cup. Also in 2021, a single horse was injured catastrophically in the 426 races and 3,552 starters that performed during the two meets. Total...

Edited Press Release Total all-sources common-pool handle for the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club was $182,908,409, a new record for the two-day event. The total represents a 4.7% increase over the prior record of $174,628,986 set when the event was held at Santa Anita Park in 2019 and a 14% increase from the total handle of $160,472,893 at the 2020 event held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, KY. Total common-pool handle on Saturday's 12-race Breeders' Cup card was a record $121,562,392. All sources common-pool...

Del Mar has cancelled its weekend racing--scheduled to run Friday through Sunday--because of multiple jockeys testing positive for COVID-19, as first reported in Daily Racing Form. In a subsequent press release Wednesday afternoon, Del Mar explained that all of the track's jockeys and jockey room personnel were tested on Tuesday by San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency staff, with 15 jockeys showing up positive for COVID-19. All were reportedly asymptomatic. "Assuming these individuals continue to show no symptoms, they will be isolated for a total of 10 days...

Officials at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club announced that the track will conduct racing on a Friday-Saturday-Sunday schedule through the entire summer and have pushed forward opening day from July 18 to July 10. The track will close with a four-day week ending on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7. The schedule is pending the approval of the California Horse Racing Board at its June 11 meeting. "We're coming back and we're going to put on the most unique show in Del Mar history," said Del Mar's CEO Joe Harper. "It's...