Del Mar, California

A packed paddock in front of Del Mar's Spanish Mission-style grandstand, its bell towers framed by palms. The track opened in July 1937 a short walk from the Pacific, with Bing Crosby among its founders greeting the first crowd at the gate, and it still sells itself as the place where the turf meets the surf. The summer meet builds to the Pacific Classic, first run in 1991, and the track first hosted the Breeders' Cup in 2017.