A mid-August Saturday at Del Mar is the summer meet in its most refined state — the meet three weeks old, the horses knowing the track, the crowd a more concentrated version of the racing public. August 15 at Del Mar sits between the Hirsch and the Pacific Classic, providing a weekend card where the feature races on the turf course are as competitive as any on the calendar. The Pacific Ocean is visible from the upper grandstand and the temperature on a mid-August afternoon at Del Mar rarely exceeds 75 degrees — the marine layer providing natural air conditioning that makes this the most comfortable racetrack in North America. …