Opening Day at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club was “Cool As Ever” on July 21. This is always one of San Diego’s biggest fashion events of the year, setting a new record of 45,309 in attendance this year. The fashionably-dressed patrons came out in droves, wearing the most glamorous chapeaus. This tradition for opening day always brings out race-goers all trying to outshine each other with the most stylish hats. For years, big, sophisticated hats have been the norm at the racetracks. Recently, Australia has influenced headwear with small, brimless fascinators and has made it acceptable to wear petite hats to racetracks, and an array of small hats were seen this year at Del Mar. One of the most popular styles are delicate sinamay straws that accent a women’s head perfectly. The colors of choice were black and white with an accent of Chinese red. Lemon yellow and amethyst were carried over from last season and were seen in abundance. A trend has been bows on hats and fascinators. Trims included exotic feathers, exquisite silk flowers and meticulously crafted embellishments. Race-goers wore hats by many different milliners including Philip Treacy, Designer Millinery, Arturo Rios and Del Mar Hats. Valerie Cooper wore a smaller hat she bought on a trip to New York City. Jenny Craig sported a big chapeau she purchased at the Kentucky Derby. The One and Only Truly Fabulous Hats Contest brought out more than 400 entries this year. First prize was awarded to Katy Helen Stockinger of San Diego for the Best Flowers category. Frank Holtz won in the Best Racing theme category and Rosalyn Sidewater of Los Angeles won for the Most Glamorous. Fay Meitz won the Funniest/Most Outrageous category and was awarded the grand prize — two American Airlines travel vouchers good for round trip travel anywhere the airline flies in the continental United States. The race season runs through Sept. 8. For more information visit www.dmtc.com/season/ or call (858) 755-1141.