Thursday, July 23, 2009

Del Mar Opening Day 2009 Hat Contest

Opening Day at Del Mar is always a party, and yesterday was no exception. With a record-breaking on-track crowd of 44,907 and gorgeous weather, it was truly a day for taking in the sights. A regular feature of opening day is the hat contest. Here are a few of my favorites, with thanks to the models who graciously posed for photos:


Catch a Wave to Del Mar Racetrack!

How cute is this?! A tiny horse on a surfboard catching a big blue wave... complete with palm trees.



Money money money money!

This creation, entitled "Del Mar's Purse" actually had a ladies' purse with money bursting out of it.

It's all about the horse.

Can you imagine walking around all day with this enormous papier-mache horse on your head?

5 comments:

D.S. Williamson said...

OMG, I guess it makes for interesting conversation but I can't imagine what would make someone wear those outlandish creations out in public. I hope the horses aren't spooked by them.

Mary Forney's Blog said...

My guess would be the contest prizes! There are some pretty good ones, including a Toshiba flat screen TV. Believe it or not, there were some even more outlandish ones than these.

Hatman said...

The surfing horse on the wave is amazing! I'd wear that hat proudly.

Sharla Sanders, Founder, The Second Race said...

Last year there was a gal that wore a huge horse head like the one above, and she was in the paddock but was asked to leave as it was scaring the horses. Thanks for posting, who was the winner??

Mary Forney's Blog said...

Sharla, the grand prize winner was David Schaner of Placentia. His hat was a gigantic hot-air balloon, and he also wore a balloon basket around his waist. (You can see a video of his entry at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FapAHvjEVsk.)

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