Del Mar's Fall Meet Shrinks Back to Four Weekends, and Thanksgiving Weekend Gets the Big Races

The Breeders' Cup has left town, and Del Mar's fall calendar has gone back to how it was before. For the past two Novembers, the track at the north end of the village hosted thoroughbred racing's world championships. That pulled the 2025 Bing Crosby Season forward to a Thursday, October 30 opening and stretched it to 16 days. This year the Breeders' Cup goes to Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky on October 30 and 31. Del Mar gets a 13-day meet running November 6 through 29.

That's three fewer race days and a start a week later. Racing runs only Friday through Sunday, plus Thanksgiving Day. For anyone who lives between the Fairgrounds and Powerhouse Park, this fall has a clear shape. Monday through Thursday stay free of race traffic every week of the meet except Thanksgiving, and the season's biggest racing all lands in one four-day Thanksgiving stretch.

This Is the Normal Shape, Not a Cutback

Thirteen days looks like a smaller meet next to last year. Compare it with 2023, the last fall without a Breeders' Cup at Del Mar, and it's the same length. That meet opened Friday, November 10, and ran 13 race days over four weeks. So 2026 is the usual fall pattern. The 2025 schedule was the unusual one, built around a championship weekend.

Del Mar Thoroughbred Club's August 13 announcement lists 15 stakes races worth $2.1 million for the meet. David Jerkens, the club's senior vice president for racing, called the course "one of the best turf courses in the country." The club also says the dates could change, so check its calendar before you lock in plans.

Four Weekends, Each With a Different Pull

Gates open at 11 a.m. and first post is 12:30 p.m. on every race day except Thanksgiving. The first three Fridays and Thanksgiving carry eight races, and every other day, including Friday, Nov. 27, carries nine. The weekends differ in what draws people to the track, and that affects how busy Jimmy Durante Boulevard and Via de la Valle will be:

Both Grade I races and the Hollywood Turf Cup fall in the last four days. The Red Carpet Stakes runs on Thanksgiving, the Hollywood Turf Cup on Friday the 27th, the Hollywood Derby on Saturday the 28th, and the Matriarch closes the meet on Sunday the 29th. The Hollywood Derby shares its Saturday card with the Seabiscuit Handicap and the Jimmy Durante Stakes. Closing day adds the Cecil B. DeMille, the Bayakoa and the Stormy Liberal to the Matriarch. The track has billed November 26 through 29 as the FanDuel Racing Turf Festival.

Thanksgiving Day also runs on its own clock. Gates open at 9:30 a.m. and first post is 11 a.m., an hour and a half earlier than any other day of the meet. If your Thanksgiving involves a drive past the Fairgrounds, plan for race traffic in the late morning, not after lunch.

How the Weekly Rhythm Works at the Track

The recurring promotions follow the same Friday-to-Sunday pattern. Every Friday is Seniors' Day, with free admission, a program and a seat for guests 62 and older. Fridays are also Jockey Box Fridays, with 25 percent off signature drinks and Oggi's pizza. Sundays are Free & Fun, which gives Diamond Club members free admission, a program and a seat. One detail changed from last year. In 2025, the Sunday concession deal was half off selected items, and the 2026 listing shows 25 percent off.

Getting there without your car still works the same way:

• Train. Amtrak and the Coaster stop at the Solana Beach station. The track runs a free race-day shuttle that meets the trains, returns 15 minutes after each race and 30 minutes after the last race, and starts at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving.
• Parking. General parking is $15 a day and valet is $30. You pay on entry, and re-entry isn't allowed.

Honor Bar Opens Into Its First Race Season

The village around the track has also changed since last fall, and the biggest change sits on Camino Del Mar. Honor Bar opened at 1404 Camino Del Mar, where Bully's used to be. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that it opened nearly 10 years after Bully's closed in 2017, following a 48-year run. The old white-brick building was torn down completely and the new restaurant was built from the ground up. It comes from Hillstone Restaurant Group, the company behind Houston's, Gulfstream in Newport Beach and Rutherford Grill in Napa. Del Mar joins Honor Bar locations in Beverly Hills, Dallas, Montecito and Palm Beach. It's open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., so it's open well past the last race on every card.

Bully's was a landmark of race-season Del Mar for decades. This November is the first fall meet with something new open on that spot.

One Familiar Option Is Off the Table Until Spring

At the other end of the race-day route, Market Restaurant and Sushi Lounge on Via de la Valle closed September 21 for a remodel. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that it expects to reopen in spring 2027. If a dinner there after a Saturday at the track is part of your fall routine, it won't be this year.

Del Mar Plaza at 1555 Camino Del Mar has added to its lineup. Desserts By Clément is open in Suite 304 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. In August, the Plaza announced that La La Land Café had signed a lease for its mezzanine café and terrace space. Construction and opening dates haven't been set.

The Calendar Before and After the Races

Because the meet starts later, October and early November are open for everything else. At the Fairgrounds, Pumpkin Station runs in the East Parking Lot through October 31. Admission and parking are free, and rides are ticketed separately. The Fall Home/Garden Show fills O'Brien Hall this weekend, October 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and October 18 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Cirque Ma'Ceo brings its equestrian and acrobatic show to Del Mar Horsepark at 14550 El Camino Real from October 30 through November 22, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Its run overlaps the first three race weekends and ends before Thanksgiving.

During the meet, the Del Mar Village Association hosts its Breast Cancer Cheering Station in downtown Del Mar Village on Friday, November 13, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. That's hours before first post on the second weekend's opening day.

After closing day, the village has one week before its own holiday weekend. On Sunday, December 6, the DMVA's Winter Taste & Sip runs from 1 to 4 p.m. downtown, with tastings from local restaurants, beverage stops and live music. North Pole By The Sea activities run from 1 to 5 p.m., and the tree lighting follows at 5 p.m. at the Jim Watkins Amphitheater at L'Auberge Del Mar.

Here's the whole season laid out:

1. Through Oct. 31: Pumpkin Station at the Fairgrounds, with the Fall Home/Garden Show Oct. 17–18
2. Oct. 30: Cirque Ma'Ceo opens at Del Mar Horsepark
3. Nov. 6–22: three race weekends, Friday through Sunday, with quiet weekdays in between
4. Nov. 26–29: Thanksgiving racing at 11 a.m., then the Hollywood Turf Cup, Hollywood Derby and Matriarch
5. Dec. 6: Winter Taste & Sip, North Pole By The Sea and the tree lighting at L'Auberge

This fall, living close to the track means four weekends of race-day crowds with quiet weekdays in between, and that pattern is part of what a home near the Fairgrounds offers. If this fall has you curious what your place near the track or the village is worth, Whiskey Kidd Realty will walk the property with you, builder's eye included. Request a Free Home Valuation, and we can meet over coffee on any Monday through Wednesday this November, when there's no racing.