Last fall, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club hosted the world. The 12th Bing Crosby Season ran from Thursday, October 30, to Sunday, November 30, with 20 stakes worth $3.15 million and two days of Breeders' Cup racing. Those days had first posts of 11:35 a.m. on the Friday and 10:05 a.m. on the Saturday, according to BloodHorse.
This November the meet is smaller. The 13th Bing Crosby Season runs from Friday, November 6, through Sunday, November 29. It has 15 stakes worth $2.1 million, and every race day except one starts at the same 12:30 p.m. post. For anyone within a short drive of the Seaside Oval, that makes this a different kind of racing season. Summer is the meet you plan around. Fall fits into an ordinary weekend afternoon.
Last Fall Was Bigger, and That Helps This Year
| Bing Crosby Season | 12th season, last fall | 13th season, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | Oct. 30 to Nov. 30 | Nov. 6 to Nov. 29 |
| Stakes races | 20 | 15 |
| Stakes purses | $3.15 million | $2.1 million |
| Race days | 16, including two Breeders' Cup days | Fri. to Sun. each week, plus Thanksgiving |
| Standard first post | 12:30 p.m. | 12:30 p.m. |
Count the dates on the 2026 pattern and you get 13 race days, three fewer than last fall: November 6 through 8, 13 through 15 and 20 through 22, then the four-day Thanksgiving stretch from November 26 through 29.
The smaller meet keeps a simple shape. Racing runs Friday through Sunday all month, with no Wednesday or Thursday cards except Thanksgiving. Friday programs normally have eight races and weekend programs have nine.
A 12:30 Post Leaves Room for the Rest of the Day
The summer schedule shows the difference. For the 2026 summer meet, Del Mar set a 2 p.m. first post on every race day, Fridays included. Only the September 5 through 7 closing weekend moved up to 1:30 p.m. A 2 p.m. start runs racing into the evening. A 12:30 p.m. start in November puts the first race right after lunch, so most of the card is run in the middle of the afternoon.
The cost is also lower than people who only know the summer meet might expect. The track's fall ticket page lists the Bing Crosby Season prices as:
- Racetrack admission: $8
- Grandstand seats: $9 to $16
- Box seats: $9 to $16
- Trackside dining tables: $70 to $187 per table
On a $70 table split among a group, the seat costs less per person than a lot of North County dinners. Fridays add the Jockey Box Fridays promotion, with 25% off Oggi's pizza and Del Mar's signature drinks.
Sundays Are Free With a Free App Signup
The best deal of the meet is easy to miss because it's presented as a members' perk. Every Sunday this fall is Free & Fun. Diamond Club members get free admission, a free program and a free seat, plus 25% off 20-ounce Michelob ULTRA drafts, Brandt Beef hot dogs and sodas at the concession stands.
Diamond Club membership is free. You sign up through the Del Mar mobile app. According to the track's terms:
- You must be a Diamond Club member, and the free membership is set up in the app.
- Your Diamond Club card has to be scanned at designated admission gates and shown at concession stands.
- There is a limit of one admission per member per race day.
- Discounts are not applied retroactively or automatically.
The third rule matters if you're bringing a group. Each person who wants the free gate needs their own membership, so everyone should download the app before Sunday instead of at the turnstile. The meet has four Sundays: November 8, 15, 22 and 29. The last one is closing day with a Grade I race, which makes it the best-value afternoon of the season for members.
Sunday also has the Taste of the Turf Club, a ticketed program in the Turf Club with creative cuisine and bottomless mimosas. It's a step up from the free gate for anyone hosting friends.
The Calendar Through Closing Day
Most of the meet's themed days fall in the second half of the season. The Del Mar events calendar lists:
| Date | Event | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Uncorked Derby Days | More than 100 wines, gourmet food vendors and music |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Taco & Beer Festival | Tacos and beer during the race day |
| Sun., Nov. 22 | Toys for Tots | Bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | Family Fun Run and Thanksgiving Brunch | A one-mile run on the oval in the morning, a Turf Club brunch during the races |
| Nov. 26 to 29 | FanDuel Racing Turf Festival | The meet's main stretch of turf racing |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | Family Fun Day | A family program during the race day |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Betting Challenge | A handicapping contest |
Uncorked Derby Days on Saturday, November 14, sells tickets through its own event listing, separate from the race-day gate. Toys for Tots on November 22 is a Sunday, so a Diamond Club member can get in free and drop off a donation the same afternoon.
Thanksgiving Racing Wraps Up Before Dinner
The track's fall schedule announcement says the special eight-race program on Thursday, November 26, will start at 11 a.m. and finish around 2 p.m. "to allow folks plenty of time to get home to that turkey and all the fixins."
The day starts before the first race. The Family Fun Run is a one-mile run on the Seaside Oval itself, sold as a separate ticket. The Thanksgiving Brunch ticket includes Turf Club admission and a table seat, a three-course Thanksgiving brunch, and mimosas served until race six. For a household cooking dinner, that's a Thanksgiving morning out with someone else doing the cooking, and the racing ends early enough to get home and start the oven.
The holiday card also has its own feature race, the $100,000 Red Carpet Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile and three-eighths on the turf.
Closing Weekend Is for the Turf Course
After Thanksgiving, the meet saves its best racing for the last three days. Del Mar's announcement says nine of the 15 stakes are on the grass, "a late-season emphasis at the seaside oval."
- Friday, Nov. 27: the Grade II, $200,000 Hollywood Turf Cup at a mile and a half
- Saturday, Nov. 28: the Grade II, $200,000 Seabiscuit Handicap at a mile and one-sixteenth, plus the Grade I, $300,000 Hollywood Derby for 3-year-olds at a mile and one-eighth on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course
- Sunday, Nov. 29: the Grade I, $300,000 Matriarch Stakes for fillies and mares at a flat mile on the turf
"We've got one of the best turf courses in the country, and we put a real emphasis on it for our fall meet," said David Jerkens, Del Mar's senior vice president for racing and racing secretary, in the track's announcement.
The stakes names also explain why the meet is called the Bing Crosby Season. Most of the fall stakes have a Hollywood theme that goes back to the track's show-business founder, Bing Crosby. Races are named for Betty Grable, Desi Arnaz, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante and Cecil B. DeMille, all part of the track's early days. The Hollywood Derby and the Matriarch are the meet's headline races, and both run on a closing weekend that starts at 12:30 p.m.
The track's season page notes that dates are subject to change, so check the official calendar before you drive over for a specific event.
Del Mar's fall meet works because it's easy to fit in on a free afternoon, and a home in this town should be marketed in a way that shows how it fits into daily life too. If you're thinking about selling in Del Mar, Christine La Bounty can put your home in front of a wider audience with professional staging, polished media and TV exposure that shows buyers what a November Sunday here looks like. Get Your Home on TV: Request a Premium Listing Consultation.
