The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club gave a warm welcome to 1,000 sailors from the USS Ronald Reagan as it returned from a deployment to the Persian Gulf.

The track held a USS Ronald Reagan Day to honor the sailors who brought the aircraft carrier home from its first deployment.

According to the Pentagon, in addition to free admission, parking and food for crew and their guests in a special VIP tent along the track, the track staff dedicated one of the day's races to them. The sailors gathered in the track's winner's circle just as the fourth race of the day was about to begin, and the Reagan's captain, Capt. Terry Kraft, presented the winner's cup trophy to the horse's owners.

The son of former President Ronald Reagan, radio talk show host, Michael Reagan, joined the sailors in the winner's circle, and thanked them for their service on a ship named after his father.