DEL MAR — Over 21,000 people packed the Del Mar racetrack on Friday for Opening Day of the 87th summer racing season, celebrating the Year of the Horse in true Del Mar fashion.
Opening Day kicked off the extended 32-day summer meet with 10 races, totaling $21 million in handle. Friday’s card began with the one-mile dirt race won by Mighty Kai and jockey Tiago Pereira, who pulled ahead in the final stretch to the roar of the crowd.
In the featured $150,000 Oceanside Handicap later that day, Proletariat secured an early lead and took home the winning title in the one-mile race on the turf, ridden by jockey Kyle Frey.
Trainer Mike McCarthy saw three Opening Day victories, with Victorious Dream and Lost Angeles taking back-to-back wins in the second and third races and Detain (IRE) winning the sixth race.
“Things kind of fell into place,” McCarthy told the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. “We got some pretty good rides and the horses were ready to run.”
Opening Day is a tradition for many attendees, who come to enjoy the racing action and the trackside fashion. Most in the crowd were dressed to the nines, with many donning impressive hats in hopes of winning the annual Opening Day Hats Contest.
“It’s the hats and the outfits. Absolutely. Of course, the races are fun,” said Ariel Green of Las Vegas, whose picnic-inspired look featured a cherry basket purse, salad headpiece, and gingham attire adorned with various foods.
Many hats featured motifs in alignment with this year’s contest theme, Hats Off to America. Chun-Mae Hauschka of Laguna Niguel was the grand prize winner of the contest with a showstopping red, white and blue creation featuring handmade giant roses.
Other winners included Aimee Fuller of San Diego in the “most glamorous” category, Kelly Brown of Newport in the “fascinator” category, and Julie Karcsay of Cardiff for the “best racing theme.”
“This is my 15th year, and every year I look forward to seeing all the creativity and amazing hats and fascinators and the people who think outside the box,” said hats contest committee member Gigi Brintwood, who donned a giant red sunhat with red, white and blue ribbons that she called “Firecracker Filly.
Racing excitement continued over the weekend with 11-race cards on both Saturday and Sunday, including the opening weekend’s most anticipated race, the $300,000 San Diego Handicap on Saturday.
Favorite Journalism, ridden by Umberto Rispoli, had a tardy start out of the gate but eventually pulled ahead to win his seventh career title in the one-and-one-sixteenth-mile San Diego Handicap. Journalism’s win marked a fourth opening weekend victory for trainer McCarthy.
The 2026 season runs through Sept. 7. Going forward, races will take place each week from Thursday to Sunday until closing weekend, which runs from Thursday through Labor Day Monday.
First post is at 2 p.m. daily — including Fridays — except on the final weekend, when it takes place at 1:30 p.m.
Del Mar’s Signature $1 million Pacific Classic — the crown jewel of the summer meet — will take place on Aug. 22 rather than Labor Day weekend as in years past.
For tickets and more information, visit dmtc.com.
