Del Mar unveils 2026 summer meet, 37 stakes races and July 17 opener

Del Mar did not just release dates. It laid out a road map for the summer, and the biggest waypoint is the $1 million Pacific Classic on Saturday, Aug. 22, the 35th running of the race that still sits at the top of the West Coast stakes map. The 2026 meet runs from Friday, July 17 through Labor Day on Monday, Sept. 7, with 37 stakes races spread across the 32-day season and $7,775,000 in total stakes purses on the table.

That matters because Del Mar shapes how horsemen plot the back half of the year. The meet includes six Grade 1 stakes, five overnight stakes worth $100,000 each, and the kind of late-summer centerpiece that usually pulls the strongest older horses and top turf runners back to Southern California. On Aug. 22, the Pacific Classic will share the spotlight with the Del Mar Oaks, Del Mar Mile and Green Flash Handicap, a card built to keep elite horses in town and keep bettors from loading up one race and walking away.

Opening weekend is getting a push of its own. Del Mar raised the opening-day Oceanside Handicap to $150,000 for its 81st running, a clear signal that the track wants July 17 to carry more than social cachet. Opening Day is again presented by Caesars Sportsbook, tickets for the opener and the full summer meet go on sale Friday, May 8 at 10 a.m. PT, and Del Mar is adding a new VIP party in the Seabiscuit Skyroom to deepen the event side of the day. The club is leaning hard into the idea that this is both a racing meet and a summer destination, not one or the other.

The schedule changes will be felt at the windows and on the drive to the track. First post will primarily be 2 p.m. PT on all race days, including Fridays, which had started at 4 p.m. before. Closing weekend, Sept. 5-7, will begin at 1:30 p.m. PT. For bettors, that means a more predictable daily rhythm. For horsemen, it tightens travel and training plans. For fans coming down from Los Angeles or flying in for big weekends, it makes the meet easier to fit into a full day without sacrificing the race card.

Del Mar also has the numbers to back up the confidence. Its 2025 summer meet handled $535.15 million, up 6.7 percent from the year before, and opening day alone drew about $21 million in all-sources handle. With 2026 marking the track’s 87th summer season, the message is blunt: Del Mar is not just protecting its place on the calendar. It is using stronger purses, a cleaner post-time structure and a stronger stakes spine to make sure the best horses still show up when the seaside track matters most.