My wife and I visited Del Mar race track last Sunday and had a very disappointing experience (we came all the way from Texas). I initially tried to purchase tickets online but found their website to be confusing in regards to seating. Many of the ticket broker platforms will show you a view when you click on the seat you're interested in. Not only was that not the case with their website but it was tough to get a gauge on where the actual finish line was.

I ended up calling the ticket office directly for guidance. First off, they really don't offer individual tickets in the club houses. So my wife and I had to buy four tickets to get a table. I told the ticket agent that I wanted a good view of the race and she recommended sitting on the terrace. She told me the seats we were purchasing were right at the finish line (which unfortunately was not true... It was actually about 10 yds beyond it so you couldn't possibly tell who won on a close race). In addition, the majority of the races started on the other side of the track so you were relegated to having to watch the majority of the race on the TV until they came around the stretch run (that's not what I want to do when I go to a live event... I could have stayed home if I was just going to watch it on TV). I asked someone in customer service if it was possible for us to switch our seats to the clubhouse (the pricing was exactly the same). She told me that she only had accessibility to the individual seats that cost $16 (we paid $160 for the table), and that we would have to talk with the ticket office if we wanted to exchange the table. But she informed me that she has never seen them accommodate that type of request (clearly poor customer service... Why would you not accommodate someone, especially when they are paying top dollar for your seats). That's called being pennywise and pound foolish (a good strategy if you don't want people to return to your facility). I did contact them directly only to be told that the complaint would be forwarded to management and the ticket office (I suspect I will not hear back from them).

They really need to train their staff better to give accurate information to their customers. I don't like wasting money like that especially when I relied on their ticket agent for guidance.