Del Mar will begin its 2026 summer racing season on Friday with a 10-race programme featuring a strong mix of established performers, emerging three-year-olds and promising newcomers. A total of 101 horses have been entered for the opening-day card, which begins at 2 p.m. and marks the return of racing action to the seaside venue.
The traditional opening-day feature, the $150,000 Oceanside Stakes, will bring together a full field of 12 three-year-olds over one mile on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course. The race forms the first event among 37 stakes contests scheduled during Del Mar’s 32-day summer meeting.
Del Mar Race Card 2026 begins with a competitive opening-day programme featuring the Oceanside Stakes, a 10-race schedule and several notable contenders returning to competition.
The Oceanside Stakes field includes Mr. A.P., who finished runner-up to juvenile champion Ted Noffey in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar. The race also features several recent stakes winners, including Secured Freedom, Unrivaled Time and Bust Out, adding depth to a contest expected to test both proven form and developing talent.
The opening race of the afternoon will see nine runners compete in a one-mile dirt contest for three-year-olds and older horses. The card will then continue with maiden races, claiming events and allowance contests across dirt and turf surfaces.
Among the later races, an allowance event over one mile and one-sixteenth on turf has attracted an 11-horse field. Tempus Volat, winner of last season’s Let It Ride Stakes at Del Mar, returns for trainer Leonard Powell and will face experienced rivals including Maaz, who previously finished second in the Grade 2 Twilight Derby at Santa Anita.
The opening weekend will continue on Saturday with the return of Journalism, who is scheduled to compete in the 85th running of the Grade 2 San Diego Stakes. The programme will also include the 59th running of the Grade 2 San Clemente Stakes for three-year-old fillies.
Preparations for the summer season began several days before racing resumed, with trainers moving their horses into the stable area and preparing for the busy schedule ahead. The Del Mar grounds gradually filled with horses from leading operations, while barns completed final arrangements ahead of the opening fixture.
Officials expect the stable population to grow toward approximately 1,800 horses during the season, with activity reaching its highest point in early August. Training resumed on the main track earlier in the week following extensive preparation work, allowing horses to return to regular morning routines.
Several prominent stables have arrived for the meeting, including those of Leonard Powell, Phil D’Amato, Peter Miller and Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella. Their runners will form part of a strong group expected to compete throughout the summer campaign.
The 2026 stakes calendar will feature more than $7.7 million in total prize money across 37 stakes races. Six Grade 1 events are scheduled, including the $1 million Pacific Classic on August 22, one of the major fixtures of the season.
The stakes programme also includes adjustments to several juvenile races, with some contests receiving longer distances. The Green Flash Stakes has been elevated to Grade 2 status and will feature an increased purse, while several major summer events will serve as important stepping stones toward autumn championship races.
Pacific Classic Day remains the centrepiece of the meeting, with a four-stakes programme featuring the Grade 1 Pacific Classic, Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks, Grade 2 Del Mar Mile and Grade 2 Green Flash Stakes.
Other major races on the calendar include the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes, Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes and Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap. The final weekend will focus on two-year-olds, with the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante and Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity closing out the summer schedule.
Racing at Del Mar will take place from Thursday through Sunday each week, with first post scheduled for 2 p.m. The meeting will conclude on Labor Day, September 7, with an adjusted start time of 1:30 p.m.
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