Racing at Del Mar starts at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, November 6. That day opens the track's 13th Bing Crosby Season with the Let It Ride, a $100,000 one-mile turf race for 3-year-olds. For the next eight weeks, almost every busy day in town can be traced back to 2260 Jimmy Durante Boulevard.
The Fairgrounds runs Del Mar's late-fall calendar, and the Village runs on the days around it. Most weekends, the two keep to their own sides of town. On a few dates they overlap, and those are the dates to plan around, whether you're going out or staying home.
Pumpkin Station Hands Off to the Track
Pumpkin Station is still open this week in the Fairgrounds' East Parking Lot and runs through October 31. Admission and parking are free, and rides are ticketed separately. Lyle Lovett and his Small Large Band play the Fairgrounds on Wednesday, November 4. Two days later, racing starts.
The ticket calendar lists 13 racing days. The first three weeks race Friday through Sunday, and the last week adds Thursday because of Thanksgiving. First post is 12:30 p.m. every day except Thanksgiving, when it moves up to 11 a.m.
| Week | Racing days | First post |
|---|---|---|
| Opening weekend | Fri. Nov. 6, Sat. Nov. 7, Sun. Nov. 8 | 12:30 p.m. |
| Week two | Fri. Nov. 13, Sat. Nov. 14, Sun. Nov. 15 | 12:30 p.m. |
| Week three | Fri. Nov. 20, Sat. Nov. 21, Sun. Nov. 22 | 12:30 p.m. |
| Turf Festival | Thu. Nov. 26 | 11 a.m. |
| Turf Festival | Fri. Nov. 27, Sat. Nov. 28, Sun. Nov. 29 | 12:30 p.m. |
From Monday through Thursday in the first three weeks, the track is quiet. The race days that matter most are the ones where something else is also happening.
Friday, November 13 Has Three Crowds
The second Friday of the meet is the busiest day of the season in Del Mar.
The Susan G. Komen 3-Day San Diego runs November 13 through 15, and the Del Mar Fairgrounds is listed as its opening location. Full 3-Day walkers cover 60 miles in three days. The event page says the route follows the Pacific Coast Highway and goes through Del Mar, Torrey Pines and Mission Bay. Walkers spend Friday and Saturday nights at an outdoor camp at Sunset Point Park.
The Village shows up early. The Del Mar Village Association runs its Breast Cancer Cheering Station that morning from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m., on Camino del Mar just south of 15th Street.
By early afternoon the track takes over. November 13 is a race day with a 12:30 p.m. first post. It's also a Friday, and every Friday this fall, guests 62 and older with valid ID get free admission, a racing program and a seat.
So on one Friday you get a charity walk opening at the Fairgrounds, a cheering crowd on Camino del Mar, and a race card with a free senior gate, all within about five hours. If you want to cheer, get to 15th Street before 8 a.m. If you'd rather avoid the crowds, run your errands on the north end of town after mid-morning.
Thanksgiving Week Starts at 8 a.m.
The meet's second overlap is a planned one, because the track stacks its own events. Thanksgiving Day starts with the Thanksgiving Family Mile Fun Run. Registration and activities open at 7 a.m., and the one-mile run starts at 8 a.m. Tickets cost $24 for ages 16 and up and $16 for ages 4 to 15. Children 3 and under are free, and racetrack admission is included. Part of the proceeds goes to Helen Woodward Animal Center's equestrian therapy program.
Gates open at 9:30 a.m., and the first race goes off at 11. The Turf Club's Thanksgiving brunch includes a three-course meal, a reserved table seat, and mimosas through Race 6. If you run the mile, you can be at a table before the first race and home before your oven needs you.
That same day starts the FanDuel Racing Turf Festival, four days of mostly grass stakes that close the meet. The Turf Festival stakes are scheduled as follows.
- Thursday, Nov. 26: Red Carpet
- Friday, Nov. 27: Hollywood Turf Cup
- Saturday, Nov. 28: Hollywood Derby, Seabiscuit and Jimmy Durante
- Sunday, Nov. 29: Matriarch, Cecil B. DeMille, Bayakoa and Stormy Liberal
Saturday's card includes the G1 Hollywood Derby, run at a mile and an eighth on the grass, and Sunday closes with the G1 Matriarch for fillies and mares at a mile on the turf. Sunday's G3 Bayakoa is the weekend's only dirt stakes. Those two days will draw the biggest crowds of the fall meet.
If you have kids, Friday is the day to go. Family Fun Day on November 27 runs from noon to 4 p.m., with free admission for children 17 and under and family activities. On the day after Thanksgiving, that's a lower-cost outing than either weekend day.
The Village Gets Its Own Sunday
Once the Matriarch is run on November 29, the Fairgrounds' next big public draw is Coastal Christmas on December 11. The Village's biggest holiday afternoon falls on Sunday, December 6, in the twelve days between.
The Del Mar Village Association has three events planned that day:
- Winter Taste & Sip, 1 to 4 p.m. Local restaurant tastings, regional wine and beer, live music, and Santa photos at Del Mar Plaza. Participating restaurants are listed as coming soon.
- North Pole By The Sea, 1 to 5 p.m. Holiday photos, children's crafts, snow, letters to Santa, carolers and holiday characters around the Village.
- Holiday Tree Lighting, 5 p.m. At the Jim Watkins Amphitheater at L'Auberge Del Mar, with hot chocolate and adult beverages for sale from 4 to 6 p.m.
On December 6, the crowd is on Camino del Mar, not Jimmy Durante Boulevard. If you skipped every race day, this is still a good Sunday to be out. You can walk from a Taste & Sip stop to the tree lighting without driving.
Three Camino del Mar spots that opened this year make good stops before or after. Queenstown Del Mar opened May 21 at 1435 Camino Del Mar in the former WestBrew space and serves New Zealand-influenced food and cocktails, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Honor Bar opened in early August at 1404 Camino Del Mar on the former Bully's North property, and Axios San Diego reported it is Hillstone Restaurant Group's first restaurant in San Diego County. At Del Mar Plaza, Desserts By Clément has opened in the former Paris en Rose space in Suite 304, an opening SanDiegoVille covered in June, and the Plaza lists it as open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Coastal Christmas Opens the Gate Again
On December 11 the activity moves back to the Fairgrounds. Coastal Christmas runs on select nights from December 11 through 26. It includes a Holiday Light Trail, a Glice skating rink, a Holiday Market and Wine Walk, complimentary Santa photos, Frosty's Fun Zone, fire-pit tables and private igloos. Admission starts at $23 for adults and $17 for children, plus fees. On-site parking is paid.
The Coastal Christmas announcement lists the nights but not the hours. Check the Coastal Christmas site before you buy tickets, especially if you're bringing guests in from out of town.
Getting to the Track Without Your Car
On race days, how you get there matters as much as which day you pick. The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club's transportation page points Amtrak and Coaster riders to Solana Beach station, where the track runs free race-day shuttles. Shuttles run continuously from the time the gates open and meet trains throughout the day. Return trips leave 15 minutes after each race and 30 minutes after the last one, so you can head home after any race. On Thanksgiving, shuttle service starts at 10 a.m.
If you drive, here are the fall parking rates:
- General parking costs $15 per vehicle.
- Valet and limo or bus parking cost $30.
- You pay when you enter, and there's no re-entry.
A separate Discounted Parking Book includes five general parking passes for the Bing Crosby Season for $29.
That five-pass book is the best deal on the list. Five general parking days cost $29, less than two days at the gate price. If you plan to go to opening weekend and a couple of Turf Festival days, the math is easy. Because there's no re-entry, if you want to grab lunch at Honor Bar between races, take the shuttle or walk.
The racing calendar, Komen walk route and Village holiday plans in this post come from each organizer's 2026 schedule. The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club says its dates are subject to change, so check dmtc.com before you go.
Connie Sundstrom grew up in San Diego. She knows that a house a few blocks from the Fairgrounds feels different in race week than in mid-December. If you're thinking about how the Fairgrounds calendar affects a particular Del Mar street, whether you're thinking about a listing, a purchase or guests in town for the holidays, Connie can walk you through it, address by address. Work With Connie.
