ADVANIDel Mar.Where the turf meets the surf.
Bing Crosby built it, Seabiscuit raced it, and every July the whole county shows up in linen and a hat that took a month to plan. Here’s the season, the big days, and how to do it properly.
Two seasons by the sea.
Del Mar races in summer and again in late fall. Summer is the party; fall is for people who came for the horses.
The Bing Crosby Season
A short autumn meet named for the man who built the track. Smaller crowds, cooler days, and serious racing. First post 2 PM.
The Summer Meet
Opening Day, the hats, concerts, food festivals, and the Pacific Classic in late August. Racing runs Thursday through Sunday, plus Labor Day.
Summer 2026
The 2026 summer meet opened Friday, July 17, and ran through Labor Day, with the Pacific Classic on August 22.
Dates from the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. Confirm race days and post times there before you go.
Four dates worth the hat.
Opening Day
A Friday in mid-July. Gates open late morning, first post is at 2, and the Opening Day Hats Contest closes mid-afternoon with winners called after the sixth race. Dress up. Everyone else will.
The Pacific Classic
Del Mar’s signature race: $1 million, Grade I, a mile and a quarter. First run in 1991 and won by Best Pal. It’s the day the summer meet builds toward.
The Bing Crosby Season
Racing comes back for most of November. Fewer hats, better parking, and the best weather of the year on the coast.
The Breeders’ Cup
Racing’s world championships came to Del Mar for the first time in 2017, then again in 2021 and 2024. When it’s here, it’s the biggest weekend in North County.
Your first day, done properly.
Reading the card
The program lists each race, each horse’s post position, jockey, trainer and morning-line odds, and the owner’s silks. Head to the paddock before each race to watch the horses walk; that’s where the regulars make up their minds.
Placing a bet
- Win
- Your horse finishes first.
- Place
- First or second.
- Show
- Anywhere in the top three.
- Exacta
- The first two, in order.
- Trifecta
- The first three, in order.
- Box
- Your picks in any order, for more money.
Opening Day, properly
- Hat
- Non-negotiable. Big is fine. Bigger is better.
- Linen
- It’s July on the coast.
- Arrive
- When gates open. Parking fills early.
- Book
- Tables and suites sell out weeks ahead.
- After
- The party moves to Rancho Santa Fe and Del Mar.
Every owner races in their own colors. Pick yours.
Racing silks are registered to the owner, not the jockey, and no two are alike. Diamonds are the classic. Try yours on.
For fun only. Real silks are registered with the racing authority.
Eighty-nine years of turf and surf.
Crosby opens the gates
Bing Crosby and his partners open Del Mar, and Bing greets the first fan at the gate himself.
Seabiscuit vs. Ligaroti
A match race at Del Mar becomes the first thoroughbred race broadcast coast to coast by NBC radio.
The Pacific Classic
The $1 million race debuts. Best Pal wins the first one.
The Breeders’ Cup
The championships come to Del Mar for the first time, and come back in 2021 and 2024.
Seats by the sea
Capacity on 370 acres along the coast, behind a Spanish mission–style grandstand.
Sources: Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Del Mar Fairgrounds, The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe.
The neighborhoods that empty out on Opening Day.
Del Mar
A small beach city with a real village: 15th Street, Powerhouse Park and the bluffs.
Del Mar guide →Rancho Santa Fe
Horse country, by covenant. Barns, bridle trails and the full equestrian season.
Rancho Santa Fe guide →Carmel Valley
Newer neighborhoods, top-rated schools and Torrey Pines a few minutes west.
Carmel Valley guide →Close enough to hear the call to post.
Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe, Solana Beach or Carmel Valley: tell me how close you want to be, and what you want to be close to.
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New housing laws, local rules and big developments, and what they mean for your home. Written by Prem Advani, broker and attorney. Unsubscribe anytime.