Every July, the Ferris wheels leave, the horses arrive and the Del Mar Fairgrounds shift from county fair to Thoroughbred racing.
The transformation is already well underway, with trailers rolling through the stable gates, barns filling with horses and more than 100 entrants set for Friday’s 10-race Opening Day card.
“I would describe turning the fair over into racetrack every season as very chaotic,” Del Mar Thoroughbred Club Director of Events & Promotions Chris Bahr said. “We’re basically running around in circles. You’ve got to get the main track ready, get the Ferris wheels out and all that. As soon as that’s done, we’re very excited.
“Opening Day is just a couple days away, and we can’t wait.”
Del Mar’s 89th summer meet runs through Sept. 7, featuring 32 race days and 37 stakes races with more than $7.7 million in purses. The schedule includes six Grade I stakes and six Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” qualifiers, highlighted by the Grade I, $1 million Pacific Classic.
The anticipation already has reached the backside.
“We got some live ones,” trainer Mike Puype said, according to Del Mar Thoroughbred Club Stable Notes.
One of the biggest storylines of opening weekend will be the return of Journalism. The 2025 Preakness Stakes winner is scheduled to make his first Del Mar start of the summer Saturday in the Grade II San Diego Handicap, a key prep race for the Pacific Classic. The bay stallion has earned more than $4.5 million.
Lili Martindale of Del Mar was the Grand Prize winner in the 2025 Opening Day Hats Contest at the Del Mar Racetrack. (File photo by Thomas Melville/La Jolla Village News)“He’s going to race on Saturday,” Bahr said. “We don’t know exactly who’s going to race Pacific Classic Day since that’s Aug. 22 and we only know kind of a few days ahead of time who’s going to race. But definitely, Journalism will be the one to look at in the near future.”
Friday’s Opening Day card includes the $150,000 Caesars Sportsbook Oceanside Handicap, which drew a full field of 12 horses. The one-mile turf race for 3-year-olds is the first of the meet’s scheduled stakes races.
Saturday’s card features the Grade II San Clemente Handicap, while Journalism headlines the Grade II San Diego Handicap.
Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith is another familiar name expected to draw attention during the summer meet.
“Our jockey colony is one of the best in the world,” Bahr said. “We have several, but Mike Smith’s the guy that kind of stands out, and most people now recognize. He doesn’t quite race as much anymore, but he still rides the biggest races, gets to pick and choose and he’s well known. He’s won just about every race around the world almost, and he’s kind of the guy all the jockeys look up to.”
The season’s biggest spotlight will arrive Aug. 22 with Pacific Classic Day, which features four graded stakes races, including the $1 million Pacific Classic, Grade I Del Mar Oaks, Grade II Del Mar Mile and Grade II Green Flash Handicap.
“As far as horse racing goes, we have one huge day, and that’s the Pacific Classic Day,” Bahr said. “Our signature race is the $1 million Pacific Classic, and that race is the one race that draws the best horses from around the country.”
An aerial view of a past Taste of New Orleans. (File photo courtesy of SDS Events USA)While racing remains the focus, Del Mar also will offer trackside events throughout the summer, including Tacos & Tequila, Uncorked: Del Mar Wine Fest, Turf & Surf Fest, Taste of New Orleans and BBQ & Beer Fest.
“We have so many special events that you can come out (and) enjoy those events as well as the world-class horse racing,” Bahr said.
Racing begins Friday with a 2 p.m. first post. The meet continues Thursday through Sunday before concluding on Labor Day
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