DEL MAR, Calif. — With the brunt of Hurricane Hilary expected on Sunday, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club says it’s “bowing to mother nature and putting safety first.”

The planned Sunday racing card — a nine-race program –is now canceled for Aug. 20. This marks only the second time in the track’s 84-year history that a full day of racing has been called off due to weather, the club confirmed.

“For the safety of everyone involved — our horses, our riders and all the workers, staff and fans — we have made the decision to cancel Sunday’s races,” DMTC president and COO, Josh Rubinstein said Saturday morning. “Unfortunately, the forecast calls for substantial rain and winds that appear to be headed our way. We are hopeful this will only be a one-day thing for us, but it is a necessary step we feel we have to take.”

Hurricane Hilary, which is expected to downgrade to a tropical storm come landfall in the region, has the potential to produce strong winds and heavy precipitation that could cause major flooding in some areas of San Diego County, according to the National Weather Service.

As far as a reschedule date, the club says that no individual make-up day will be scheduled in light of the loss of Sunday’s racing card. Instead, the plan is to arrange to work in many of the planned races on different days over the course of coming weeks.

Del Mar has a 31-day schedule this year which started on July 21 and goes forward until Sept. 10.  The club says racing will resume at the track next Thursday with a 2 p.m. first post.