The first Friday in November, the gate at Del Mar swings open again. The fall meet at Del Mar — officially the Bing Crosby Season — runs from November 6 through November 29, 2026, bringing Thoroughbred racing back to the seaside track north of San Diego on a mostly Friday-to-Sunday rhythm. Opening Day is Friday, November 6, the cards finish near sunset, and the meet includes a Thanksgiving Day program on November 26 before closing on November 29.
It is the kind of autumn tradition that rewards a proper base. A private villa in the San Diego area gives your group a coastal house to come home to after the races: pool, grill, room for everyone, and the grandstand a short ride away.
What the Bing Crosby Season is
Del Mar's autumn meet is the smaller, more intimate sibling of the summer meeting. Where July at Del Mar is a scene, November is a habit — the same grandstand, the same inland-coast light over the track, a crowd that largely knows one another. The fall schedule is carded with 15 stakes races across the meet, so while the day-to-day cards are relaxed, the feature weekends carry real weight.
Post times lean toward a Friday-through-Sunday pattern, which makes the meet easy to build a trip around: fly in Thursday, race Friday and Saturday, take Sunday for the beach and the table you could not get in summer. Thanksgiving Day racing on November 26 is a fixture in its own right — a rare holiday program where the afternoon starts with a stakes race instead of a turkey.
Where the track sits
The Del Mar Fairgrounds, home of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, sits just inland from Del Mar beach, roughly 30 minutes north of downtown San Diego without traffic and a little more with it. The Pacific is a few minutes west of the grandstand; Torrey Pines and La Jolla are south; the Orange County corridor is north. The setting is the point of this track — palm trees past the finish line, marine layer burning off by the second race, sunset landing somewhere around the last race on a fall card.
Practical note for planners: parking and ride-share both thin out on stakes weekends, and the coastal stretch of I-5 slows down on Friday afternoons. Staying within 15–20 minutes of the Fairgrounds keeps the group out of the worst of it.
Building a villa weekend around the meet
This is where a private villa beats a trackside hotel room. Hotel corridors during meet season are full of racing people on early mornings; a villa gives the group a shared kitchen, a pool, and a grill for the after-meet barbecue the day's card deserves. Splitting a five- or six-bedroom house between four couples usually lands under the per-room cost of a coastal resort in November — and you get a living room where the discussion of tomorrow's exotics can run as long as it wants.
For groups, the shape of a good Del Mar fall weekend looks like this:
- Arrive Thursday. Grocery run, pool, an easy first night. The Friday card starts the trip properly.
- Race Friday and Saturday. Stake weekends draw the better fields; Saturday is typically the strongest card of the meet.
- Keep Sunday loose. Beach walk at Del Mar, brunch in Solana Beach or Encinitas, dinner back at the house.
- Thanksgiving option. For groups traveling for the November 26 program, a villa also solves the holiday table — cook at the house, race in the afternoon.
Villas within Del Mar, Solana Beach, Carmel Valley and Rancho Santa Fe put the group closest to the gate; inland estates toward Fairbanks Ranch trade a few extra minutes of driving for more land and more privacy.
What else the group can do between races
Northern San Diego County fills the non-race hours easily. The Del Mar beaches and the coastal path at Torrey Pines are minutes from the track. The design district and the farmers market at the Del Mar Powerhouse area give the shopping-inclined something to do on a Saturday morning. Wine-tasting rooms run up toward Escondido and Valle Grande, and downtown San Diego — the Gaslamp, the waterfront, Petco Park — is a 30-minute run south for a night out.
For larger groups with mixed interests, this is the appeal of the Bing Crosby Season specifically: the racing is a two-or-three-afternoon commitment, not an all-day obligation, so nobody in the house has to care about the same things.
How to plan the trip
Start with the racing dates — November 6 to 29, 2026 — and pick your stakes weekends from the official Del Mar calendar. Book the house first; the best coastal rentals near Del Mar go early for fall meet weekends and Thanksgiving. Then build outward: tickets to the grandstand or a dining room reservation for the bigger cards, airport logistics for San Diego International (or John Wayne, if the group is coming from the north), and one dinner reservation the group will actually show up for.
The Maruca Group manages luxury villas across San Diego and coastal Southern California, and our team can match a property to the size and rhythm of your party — walkable to the beach, gated and private, or built for a full-house Thanksgiving. Explore villas with The Maruca Group and we will line up the house before the meet fills up.
Frequently asked questions
When is the 2026 Bing Crosby Season at Del Mar?
The fall meet runs from Friday, November 6 through Sunday, November 29, 2026, with Opening Day on November 6 and a mostly Friday-to-Sunday post schedule.
Is there racing on Thanksgiving at Del Mar?
Yes. The 2026 fall meet includes a Thanksgiving Day program on Thursday, November 26.
Where should we stay for Del Mar fall racing?
Villas in Del Mar, Solana Beach, Carmel Valley or Rancho Santa Fe keep your group within a short drive of the Fairgrounds, with pool, kitchen and space that a hotel room cannot match.
How far is Del Mar from San Diego airport?
Del Mar Fairgrounds is roughly 30 minutes south-to-north from San Diego International without heavy traffic; allow more on Friday afternoons during meet weekends.
How many stakes races are in the fall meet?
The 2026 autumn meet is carded with 15 stakes races across November 6-29.
Can a villa fit a large group for the meet?
Yes — the area's larger rentals run five to eight bedrooms, which suits multi-family or multi-couple trips and often costs less per room than coastal resorts in November.
