The summer crowd leaves. The hat contest ends. And then the real track comes back.
Del Mar's Bing Crosby Season is the fall meet nobody outside San Diego talks about, and that's exactly why the regulars prefer it. Sixteen racing days spread across October and November, twenty stakes worth over $3 million in purses, and a grandstand that actually feels like a grandstand instead of a music festival spillover. The light is different — gold instead of white. The bettors are serious. The picnic tables have room.
The season runs October 30 through November 30. The first two days share the calendar with something enormous happening in Kentucky — which means the serious local racing crowd has Del Mar almost to themselves. The rest of the calendar is pure fall horse racing — the coast, the paddock, the specific joy of watching a thoroughbred accelerate through a turn when the wind is coming off the ocean.
Del Mar Racetrack, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd, Del Mar 92014. Tickets and schedule at dmtc.com.