The Best Del Mar Opening Day Party
Written By: Robyn Wyman-Dill Après Opening Day At L’Auberge Del Mar
Photography Credit: Courtesy of L’Auberge Del Mar
For 75 years, where the surf meets the turf at the fabled Del Mar racetrack, the Thoroughbred Club has opened their racing season with creativity and style, hosting a fashionable grandstand bash, now being attended by 40, 000 plus fun-loving people. But, when the horses and betting end inside the stadium on July 15, the town will surge with après-opening day energy at L’Auberge Del Mar, A Destination Hotel, from 5:00 p.m. to midnight. What started out as a grassroots celebration six years ago with 1, 000 people, has blossomed into quite the sophisticated and stylish bash. Bringing in a capacity crowd of 2, 100 fashionable folks to celebrate in an atmosphere fueled with life.
“Every year we strive to elevate the experience from the year before, ” says L’Auberge Del Mar’s Director of Sales & Marketing Robert Harter.
This year, the hotel is adding a hat check for your spectacular hats and a blowout bar to freshen up your coiffures. The food service hours have also been extended from 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Food stations—like the salad sensation station and dessert stations—will line the decks and dining areas. A menu of foie gras with pickled strawberries, almond butter and strawberry jam followed by chicken verde, watermelon salad and tacos al pastor, wagyu beef short ribs, wild mushroom fricassee and ratatouille with summer vegetables is served by Chef Nathan Lingle and Kitchen 1540. Themed sweets like Del Mar lemon cupcakes and bales of hay rice krispy treats will be paired with craft beer and featured liquors.
DJ FishFonics and DJ Gabe Vega will be rocking the resort while seven local go-go dancers in jockey-wear groove to their tunes. (A small stage will be constructed over the pool to accommodate good views.)
Ranked one of three top leading hotels in San Diego County, L’Auberge Del Mar luxury resort is situated on 5.2 acres and is gracefully landscaped with a private pathway to one of the best beaches in California. The decor is steeped in understated elegance and designed is by Barclay Butera of Newport Beach.
The original resort was built in 1910, and came with an engaging past, becoming a hotspot for locals and Hollywood celebrities over the years. Celebrities like Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz and Jimmy Durante liked to frequent the beach resort and watch the spectacular sunsets here.
“We really do get a mix of the best people, ” says Harter. “Besides the locals who keep coming back, our other guests are from Kentucky and the Mid-West, Las Vegas, San Francisco and LA County.”
Advance tickets are priced at $229 each through July 14. Day of tickets are priced at $250 each on the day of the event. For more information visit www.openingdayafterparty.com , or call 800.245.9757.
L’Auberge Del Mar
1540 Camino Del Mar
Del Mar, CA 92014
858.259.1515
Opening Day Festivities at L’Auberge
Journalist Robyn Wyman-Dill resides in Monarch Beach. She received her BS from the University of Colorado and completed her journalism studies at Saddleback College in 2010. Blessed with ample curiosity and a passion for knowledge and the arts, she loves to travel and has lived in London, Florence, and Germany.
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