DEL MAR – The tourists of summer are gone. The excitement of the Breeders’ Cup is over.

The halcyon vibe of Del Mar’s Bing Crosby meet is quite different from the intense and fast-paced days of the featured summer session and last weekend’s fourth Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar in nine years.

The fall crowds are much smaller, but with a higher percentage of dedicated horseplayers. There are fewer horses on the grounds and the fields tend to be smaller. And because the sun sets earlier, it’s a shorter day with fewer races.

But there are races and winners. And the 12th annual Fall meeting will end Nov. 28-30 with the Turf Festival – three days of high stakes racing on the grass that draws leading horses from the east because the turf has gone dormant at most other tracks in the nation.

“The fa

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