Del Mar's horse calendar this fall runs from October 30 to November 29 with barely a gap. Cirque Ma'Ceo raises its big top at Del Mar Horsepark a week before the Bing Crosby Season opens, and the Thanksgiving racing that was dropped after 2023 is back on the schedule.
Racing runs Friday through Sunday, plus Thanksgiving Thursday. On regular race days, gates open at 11 a.m. and first post is 12:30 p.m. Admission is $8, and anyone 17 or under gets in free, with some restrictions. That makes November the month when a day at the track costs about as much as lunch in the Village, and most of the season's promotions are built around that same scale.
The month in the order it arrives
- October 30: Cirque Ma'Ceo opens "The Year of the Horse" at Del Mar Horsepark, 14550 El Camino Real, with a 7 p.m. show.
- November 6: The Bing Crosby Season opens. It's also Diamond Club Day, when Diamond Club members get in free.
- November 14: Uncorked Derby Days wine festival.
- November 21: Taco & Beer Festival.
- November 22: Toys for Tots day at the track, and the last Cirque Ma'Ceo show, at 4 p.m.
- November 26: Thanksgiving racing, with a Family Mile Fun Run in the morning.
- November 26–29: The FanDuel Racing Turf Festival closes the meet with two Grade I races.
BloodHorse counts this as the 13th Bing Crosby Season, with 15 stakes worth $2.1 million in total. The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club says dates can change, so check the official calendar before you plan around a specific card.
What an afternoon at the fall meet costs
Here are the fall prices posted on the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club's ticket pages:
| Item | Fall 2026 price |
|---|---|
| Racetrack admission | $8 |
| Grandstand or box seat | $9–$16 |
| Trackside dining table | $70–$187 per table |
| Admission, 17 and under | Free, with restrictions |
| General parking | $15 per vehicle |
| Valet parking | $30 |
| Five general-parking passes | $29 |
The parking book does the most work in that table. Five passes for $29 comes to $5.80 a visit, compared with $15 at the gate. The book is good for the whole Bing Crosby Season but not for preferred or valet parking. Gate parking is paid on entry, with no re-entry.
You can also skip parking. Amtrak and the Coaster both stop at Solana Beach, and Del Mar runs a free race-day shuttle from that station to the track. On live racing days the shuttle runs nonstop from the time gates open and meets the trains. Thanksgiving is the exception, when service starts at 10 a.m. Return shuttles leave 15 minutes after each race and 30 minutes after the last one.
Each racing day has its own deals
With an $8 gate, the promotions do more than lower the price. Each one points a different group toward a different day of the week.
Fridays are set up for an early-afternoon visit. Seniors' Day gives anyone 62 or older free admission, a program and a seat with a valid ID at the designated gates. Jockey Box Fridays take 25% off Del Mar signature drinks and Oggi's pizza at the Jockey Box, on the second floor of the Stretch Run. Wine Down cuts up to 50% off select bottles in select restaurants and the Turf Club.
Saturdays host the festivals. Uncorked Derby Days on November 14 runs 1 to 4 p.m. General admission is $84. Early admission is $100 and starts the tasting at noon. Both tickets include racing access, a program and unlimited tastings of more than 100 wines and sparkling wines. Food is extra, and the event is 21 and over. The Taco & Beer Festival on November 21 is cheaper. Its trackside area is open to everyone at the track, all ages, from noon to 4 p.m. A $17.50 wristband adds five drink tickets and a souvenir cup.
Sundays are Free & Fun days for Diamond Club members. Members get free admission, a program and a seat, plus 25% off Michelob ULTRA drafts, Brandt Beef hot dogs and sodas at the concession stands. Taste of the Turf Club runs every Sunday at 12:30 p.m., with a three-course brunch and mimosas served until Race 6. Tables seat up to four, and the Turf Club dress code applies. On November 22, a new, unwrapped toy or a cash donation gets you in free for Toys for Tots. The donation bins are just outside the admission gates.
Thanksgiving is back on the card
The Paulick Report reported in August that Del Mar would race on Thanksgiving Day for the first time since 2023. Thanksgiving is the one day of the meet that starts in the morning, and it runs on its own schedule:
- 7 a.m.: Family Mile Fun Run registration and activities open.
- 8 a.m.: The run starts.
- 9:30 a.m.: Racetrack gates open.
- 10 a.m.: The free shuttle starts running from Solana Beach.
- 11 a.m.: First post, and the Thanksgiving Brunch starts in the Turf Club.
Fun Run entry is $24 for ages 16 and up and $16 for ages 4 to 15, and it includes a souvenir medallion. Children 3 and under run free, and anyone 17 or under needs a parent or legal guardian along. Costumes are encouraged. Strollers are allowed, dogs aren't, and there's no bag check. Kids' games, face painting, holiday crafts, and free donuts and water while they last fill the morning. Parking is free for the run. The day's eight-race card includes the Red Carpet Stakes.
The next afternoon is Family Fun Day, from noon to 4 p.m., when children 17 and under get in free with a parent or guardian. The track sets up rock climbing, mini golf, miniature-horse and Pony Boy meet-and-greets, an inflatable game zone and hat-making. With both days on the schedule, Thanksgiving weekend has the most family programming of the season.
The big top on El Camino Real
Cirque Ma'Ceo runs alongside the meet. The Del Mar Times, writing in the San Diego Union-Tribune, describes "The Year of the Horse" as a 90-minute show under a custom Italian big top on the Horsepark grounds. It mixes horsemanship, acrobatics, aerial work and dance. The show was created by Olissio Zoppe, a ninth-generation equestrian acrobat, and Del Mar is one stop on its national tour. The same report says the Del Mar run includes equestrian artist Sylvia Zerbini. She has performed at the Del Mar Fairgrounds before and was featured at the Del Mar National Horse Show's Night of the Horse with her liberty act with Arabian stallions.
The Cirque Ma'Ceo ticket site lists shows at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 4 and 7 p.m. on Saturdays, and 1 and 4 p.m. on Sundays. Thursday, November 5 is a 7 p.m. show, the evening before the meet opens. On weekends, the 7 p.m. Saturday show and the 4 p.m. Sunday show both start after the 12:30 p.m. post at the racetrack. Ticket prices weren't posted on the pages we checked, so look them up at cirquemaceo.com before you plan the evening.
The closing weekend
The meet saves its best racing for the end. The Grade II Hollywood Turf Cup runs Friday, November 27. Saturday, November 28 has the Grade I Hollywood Derby, the Grade II Seabiscuit Handicap and the Grade III Jimmy Durante Stakes. Closing Day on Sunday, November 29 has the Grade I Matriarch, along with the Cecil B. DeMille, Bayakoa and Stormy Liberal Stakes. The official stakes schedule guarantees a $300,000 purse for each of the two Grade I races.
Closing Day falls on a Sunday, so Diamond Club members get Free & Fun admission and the Taste of the Turf Club brunch runs that day too. Gates open at 11 a.m. and first post is 12:30 p.m., the same as on any other regular day of the meet.
If you have family in town for Thanksgiving and want to plan around the track, from the Fun Run to the Matriarch, Home by Baris is glad to share what we know about getting around Del Mar during race weeks. Reach out any time.
