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What: “Del Mar: Its Life & Good Times.”

Author: William Murray; edited by Dan Smith.

Publisher: Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.

Price: $10.

Riding the groundswell of publicity generated by the movie “Seabiscuit,” Del Mar has published an updated version of a book that came out in 1988, for the racetrack’s 50th anniversary.

Like the original, the slick 56-page revised version offers more than 100 classic black-and-white photographs from Del Mar’s beginnings as a playground for Hollywood stars.

On the cover are a modern-day color photo of the track and an old photo of Bing Crosby and Pat O’Brien, two of the founders. There are plenty of photos of Crosby on the inside as well, and also a photo of three of Crosby’s sons -- Gary and twins Dennis and Phil -- when they were little boys. There are photos of big-name celebrities throughout.

The text by William Murray, a novelist and former staff writer for the New Yorker, is crisp and highly readable. Editor Dan Smith is a longtime horse racing publicist who has worked at the track since 1964. Murray has been coming to the track since 1966.

Del Mar opened June 3, 1937, and drew crowds of 15,000 and 18,000 the first two days. But attendance then dropped and the average was about 5,000 a day until Aug. 12, 1938. That day 20,000 showed up to see Seabiscuit beat Ligaroti by a nose in a match race.

Such events in Del Mar’s history, well-covered in the original book, also are in this version, along with an update on the track’s growth over the last 15 years. That growth includes the $80-million rebuilding of the grandstand, completed in 1993.

The book, about the size of a football program, is available at the Del Mar Gift Horse shop and online via the gift shop section on delmarracing.com. Del Mar will hold a book signing with Murray and Smith on Saturday, noon-1:30 p.m., on the patio of the Best Pal Pub adjacent to the paddock.