Before there was Del Mar, there was another racetrack.
There’s no sign of it today, but Pacific Beach once had a racetrack — and for a brief period in the 1880s, it became one of the region’s most notable gathering places.
Today, Pacific Beach is known for its boardwalk, beach traffic, and nightlife. In the late 19th century, however, it was part of a developing coastal landscape shaped by real estate speculation, rail expansion, and ambitious efforts to create destination communities.
One of the most ambitious of those early projects was the Pacific Beach Driving Park, also known as the American Driving Park, a horse racing facility established during San Diego’s 1880s land boom.
The track was developed in 1887 after the Southern California Breeders’ Association acquired property for a formal racing venue. Located on what was then undeveloped land near Pacific Beach, the site included a racetrack, stables, and a grandstand designed to support organized races and public events while also helping promote surrounding land sales.
Left, Automobile racetrack between San Diego and Pacific Beach c. 1908 or 1910. Exterior of a Pacific Beach horse race track grandstand in 1935. Right, Exterior of a Pacific Beach horse race track grandstand in 1935. (Photos and info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)By 1888, the Pacific Beach Driving Park was hosting major events. Race days brought spectators from San Diego and surrounding communities, with visitors arriving by rail and carriage to watch competitions and enjoy the social atmosphere surrounding the races.
Car races at the track c. 1908 or 1910. (Photo and info courtesy of the San Diego History Center)Transportation played an important role in the track’s popularity. The San Diego, Old Town, and Pacific Beach Railroad connected the area with downtown San Diego, and special excursion trains helped bring large crowds to major events. The rail connection made the racetrack more than a neighborhood attraction — it became a destination for visitors throughout the region.
The venue also hosted other public events, including baseball games and exhibitions, reflecting the broader purpose behind early recreational projects in Pacific Beach. Activities like these were designed to bring people to the area and showcase a developing coastal community that was still largely undeveloped.
One of the track’s biggest events took place in October 1888, when a “People’s Day” exhibition attracted an estimated 7,000 spectators. Newspaper accounts described crowded grandstands and a festive atmosphere that temporarily made the Pacific Beach Driving Park a center of activity in the region.
The success of the racetrack was tied to the larger Southern California real estate boom of the 1880s. When that boom collapsed in the early 1890s, investment slowed and many ambitious development plans in Pacific Beach stalled.
The racetrack continued to be used for a time, but it never regained the excitement and public attention of its early years. By the early 1900s, it was no longer operating as a major sporting venue.
As Pacific Beach continued to grow and change, the structures associated with the racetrack disappeared. The grandstand and related buildings were eventually removed, and the land became part of the neighborhood that developed around it.
Today, there are no visible remains of the Pacific Beach Driving Park. Its history survives through photographs, maps, newspaper accounts and historical records.
The racetrack remains an important chapter in the story of early Pacific Beach — a time when developers envisioned the coastal area as a destination built around transportation, recreation and growth.
Although the community eventually became known for its beaches and boardwalk rather than horse racing, the Pacific Beach Driving Park offers a glimpse into an earlier era when crowds gathered by the bay to watch races and experience one of San Diego’s first major sporting attractions.
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Sources:
San Diego History Center — Journal of San Diego History: “Whatever Happened to Izard Street?” by Zelma Bays Locker (Spring 1976) San Diego History Center — Historic image companion to “Whatever Happened to Izard Street?”San Diego Union, July 20, 1887San Diego Sun, Feb. 2, 1931 — M.V. Depew, “Pacific Beach Had Its Own Race Track 40 Years Ago…”Pacific Beach subdivision map (October 1887), Map No. 697, San Diego County Recorder’s OfficeAmended Map No. 791 (1894), San Diego County Recorder’s OfficeMap No. 854 (1898), San Diego County Recorder’s OfficeRichard F. Pourade, The Glory Years, 1865–1899San Diego History Center — “The High Iron to La Jolla”
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