Del Mar's fall racing season is saddling up again, and this year's Bing Crosby meet is bringing back something San Diego racing fans haven't seen in years: a Thanksgiving Day card. The 13-day meet carries a stakes schedule worth $2.1 million, with 15 stakes races including two Grade I events, and it's packed with themed days, family activities and food festivals.
Del Mar's own announcements give the same start date for the season. One release from dmtc.com states the meet runs “starting on Friday, November 6 and running through to Sunday, November 29,” while a separate dmtc.com release says “the 13-day meet begins a week later than last year, on Friday, November 6, and concludes on Sunday, November 29.” Either way, racing wraps up on November 29, and the San Diego Union-Tribune reports the meet spans 13 racing days overall, held Fridays through Sundays.
David Jerkens, Del Mar's senior vice president for racing and racing secretary, said the track leans into its turf course during the fall stand, according to the Union-Tribune. That emphasis shows up directly in the stakes slate: nine of the 15 stakes races on the schedule will be run on the lawn, per dmtc.com.
Thanksgiving Racing Returns After a Long Absence
For the first time in several years, Del Mar is hosting a Thanksgiving Day racing program, the Union-Tribune reports. The holiday card is set for eight races beginning at 11 a.m., a departure from the meet's usual 12:30 p.m. first post, per dmtc.com.
Thanksgiving Day's featured race is the $100,000 Red Carpet Stakes, a 1 3/8-mile grass event for fillies and mares age three and older, according to the Union-Tribune and dmtc.com. Not every outlet agrees on the purse, however: BloodHorse describes the same Thanksgiving Day headliner as a $120,000 race run at the identical 1 3/8-mile turf distance. The Red Carpet Stakes opens what Del Mar calls the FanDuel Racing Turf Festival, a stretch the track says covers the final four days of the fall season and includes two Grade I events, per dmtc.com.
Beyond the races, Thanksgiving Day comes with its own slate of extras. A Thanksgiving Turf Club meal costs $184 per person and includes a three-course holiday spread with bottomless mimosas, the Union-Tribune reports. Families can also take part in a Family Fun Run that morning — a 1-mile lap around the seaside oval starting at 8 a.m., with registration opening at 7 a.m. Entry runs $16 to $24. The run benefits the Therapeutic Riding Program.
Graded Stakes Stack Up Through Closing Weekend
The turf festival continues November 27 with the Grade II Hollywood Turf Cup, a 1 1/2-mile race for horses age three and up, dmtc.com reports. Saturday, November 28 brings the Grade I Hollywood Derby and the Grade II Seabiscuit Handicap, according to the same source. The Hollywood Derby and the closing-day Matriarch Stakes are each worth $300,000 and carry Grade I status, while the Hollywood Turf Cup and Seabiscuit Handicap are Grade II races worth $200,000 apiece, per dmtc.com.
The season's final day, November 29, closes with the Grade I Matriarch Stakes for fillies and mares at one mile on turf, dmtc.com reports. That closing card also carries mandatory payouts for all wagers, according to the Union-Tribune. Earlier in the meet, the Chosen Vron Stakes and Betty Grable Stakes each run at seven furlongs and carry $100,000 purses, per dmtc.com.
Purses outside the stakes schedule are climbing too. Daily Racing Form reports that overnight purses will increase across the board during the 13-day autumn meeting, with an $8,000 claiming race now worth $20,000, up from $17,000 last fall. The maiden-race purse rose 8 percent, from $60,000 in 2025 to $65,000, according to the same report.
Opening Weekend
Opening weekend brings its own set of perks. Diamond Club members get free admission on opening day, November 6, the Union-Tribune reports, while College Day on November 7 offers free admission and seating to students with valid IDs. That same day, the Data on Us program gives bettors free handicapping information after signing up at dmtc.com.
Food and drink events dot the calendar as well. Uncorked Derby Days takes place November 14, an event for guests 21 and older featuring a Derby Dame & Dapper Dan fashion contest, with tickets priced at $75 and $90 and proceeds benefiting Urban Surf 4 Kids.
The Toys for Tots campaign on November 22 offers free racetrack admission to anyone bringing a new, unwrapped toy or making a donation, per the Union-Tribune. Family Fun Day on November 27 adds rock climbing walls, an inflatable game zone and mini golf, while a $3,000 buy-in betting challenge on November 28 carries expected prizes of $125,000.
Weekly Deals and Everyday Admission
Regulars have their own routines to look forward to. Seniors' Days in 2026 offer free admission, a seat and a racing program to anyone 62 and older, according to the Union-Tribune. Free & Fun Sundays give club members free admission, seats and a program, plus 25 percent off Brandt Beef hot dogs, sodas and 20-ounce Michelob Ultra drafts. Diamond Club memberships, available through the Del Mar mobile app, run $4 for admission.
