Del Mar Racing Season 2026: Dates, Stakes & the Honest Betting Math
The 87th summer meet at Del Mar runs July 17 through September 7, 2026: 32 days, Thursday-Sunday weekly after the Friday-Sunday opening weekend, first post 2 p.m. (1:30 p.m. final weekend). The fact most pages will get wrong this year: the $1 million Pacific Classic moved to AUGUST 22, off its traditional Labor Day slot. New at the windows: the $3 All Turf Pick 3 on the last three races daily. And from a desk that studies betting markets for a living: track takeout runs roughly 15-25%, so bet it as entertainment, not edge.
Where the turf meets the surf, and where 513,000 people and half a billion dollars in handle came through last summer. Here's the season, honestly.
The Season at a Glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dates | July 17 - September 7, 2026 · 87th summer season · 32 racing days |
| Weekly schedule | Opening weekend Fri-Sun, then Thursday-Sunday each week; closing week runs Thursday through Labor Day Monday |
| First post | 2:00 p.m. daily (including Fridays) · 1:30 p.m. on the final weekend |
| Opening Day | Friday July 17 · gates 11:30 a.m. · hat contest · Plaza de Mexico · 10 races, 100+ horses entered |
| Last year's scale | 513,000+ fans · $535M+ all-sources handle · record $24.2M Opening Day handle on a 21,209 sellout (2025) |
| Tickets | dmtc.com |
Stakes Worth Planning Around
| Date | Race | The notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fri Jul 17 | $150,000 Oceanside Handicap · 1 mile turf | Opening Day feature; per DMTC the favorite is Bust Out (trainer Mike McCarthy, jockey Emissael Jaramillo) |
| Sat Jul 18 | $300,000 San Diego Handicap · 1 1/16 dirt | Seven-horse field; favorite is multiple stakes winner Journalism (Umberto Rispoli up, McCarthy again) |
| Sat Jul 18 | Grade II $200,000 San Clemente Handicap · 1 mile turf | Eleven fillies; favorite Ground Support (Adam Beschizza / Kelsey Danner) |
| Sat Aug 22 | ⭐ $1,000,000 Pacific Classic · Grade I | THE date change of 2026: moved off Labor Day weekend. The crown jewel now anchors late August with its full graded-stakes undercard |
The Betting Menu (and What's New)
The full menu: Win/Place/Show plus six multi-race exotics — Early and Late Pick 4, Early and Late Pick 5, and the Pick 6 that regularly builds million-dollar-plus pools on weekends. New for 2026: the $3 All Turf Pick 3, offered on the last three races of the card every single day — a low-stakes, turf-only ticket built for the late-afternoon crowd.
The Honest Betting Math (from a desk that does this daily)
Here is what no poster at the track says: parimutuel takeout, the house's cut of every pool, typically runs somewhere around 15-25% depending on the bet type. A two-sided sportsbook runs roughly 4-6% vig; betting exchanges run less. That gap is why a prediction desk treats the track differently than its daily markets: at Del Mar you are not hunting edge, you are buying an afternoon — the ocean air, the hats, the two-dollar Show ticket that makes race six matter. Set an entertainment budget, play the new $3 All Turf Pick 3 for the sweat, chase the Pick 6 pool once for the story, and keep the serious bankroll math for markets where the house takes twenty times less. The best bet at Del Mar is knowing which game you're playing.
