Del Mar Racing Season 2026 · Event Transportation
Last updated July 30, 2026 · Written by Elite Green Transportation, a licensed San Diego car service · Every number on this page is sourced, and the sources are listed at the bottom.
Short answer: what's the best way to get to Uncorked: Del Mar?
Uncorked is a three-hour tasting with over 100 wines that ends at 5 PM, and Del Mar charges parking per vehicle at entry with no re-entry allowed. That combination is the whole decision. If nobody in your group wants to be the designated driver after a 100-pour afternoon — and on August 1 there is also an active heat advisory — a pre-booked round-trip car is the option that doesn't require anyone to make a judgment call at 5 PM. Del Mar's own free alternative is the complimentary race-day shuttle from the Solana Beach train station, reachable by COASTER or Amtrak. Driving yourself and parking costs $15 general, $25 preferred, or $35 valet — and locks your car in the lot.
All of the following is published by Del Mar Thoroughbred Club on its own event page. Nothing here is inferred.
| Date | Saturday, August 1, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Event hours | “Saturday, August 1, 2026 @ 2 - 5 PM” |
| Location | Seaside Cabana, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club |
| Age policy | “Event is for Ages 21 & Up only” |
| Included | Wine tasting (over 100 wines and bubblies), racing program & tipsheet, racetrack admission. Food is a separate purchase. |
| Early Admission | $100 — wine tasting 1–5 PM, early entry |
| General Admission | $84 — wine tasting 2–5 PM |
| Ticket notes | “Save $10 with code DMTC26.” “Tickets are non-refundable.” |
August 1 is not a quiet Saturday. Del Mar's own calendar lists gates at 12 PM, first post at 2 PM, and an 11-race card headlined by two stakes races:
The same day also carries Daybreak at Del Mar and the Weekend Wagering Seminar. So the tasting crowd, a Grade I stakes crowd, and a full 11-race card all arrive through the same gates. First post lands at 2 PM — the exact minute general-admission tasting opens.
One thing Del Mar does not publish: a last-race time. An 11-race card starting at 2 PM runs well past the 5 PM tasting close, but we won't put a number on it, because the track doesn't. Plan your return around the 5 PM tasting end, not around a guessed final race.
Flat, round trip, from metro San Diego. No surge, no fuel surcharge, no per-mile meter. Your chauffeur drops you at the gate and returns for you — which means no parking fee, no lot exit queue, and no re-entry problem.
| Vehicle | Passengers | Round trip |
|---|---|---|
| BMW i7 All-electric executive sedan | 2 | $120$60 per seat |
| Rivian R1S All-electric SUV | up to 4 | $160$40 per seat |
| Cadillac Escalade IQ-L All-electric full-size SUV | up to 5 | $200$40 per seat |
Fleet is 100% electric. Both SUVs land at $40 a seat when full — the R1S split four ways, the Escalade IQ-L split five. That's $5 more than valet parking, and it doesn't ask anyone in your group to stay sober all afternoon.
📞 Book your Uncorked round trip — (858) 522-0264 Licensed San Diego car service · Available 24/7 · Choctaw / woman-ownedAugust 1 is a Grade I stakes Saturday with a wine festival on top. Saturday vehicles go early.
We'd rather be your trusted source than win every booking, so here is the honest version — including the case for driving.
Del Mar publishes its parking rates. These are the daily rates, which is what applies on August 1 (the higher prices in Del Mar's table are Opening Day only):
| Option | Daily | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| General Parking | $15 | Pay upon entry |
| Preferred Parking | $25 | Pay upon entry |
| Valet Parking | $35 | “may be purchased upon entry on race days while supplies last” |
| Limo & Bus Parking | $35 | Applies to chartered vehicles that park rather than drop |
The rule most people miss: Del Mar states plainly — “Parking fees are charged on a per-vehicle basis when entering the facility. No re-entry allowed.” Once you're in, your car is in. If at 5 PM you decide you shouldn't drive, your car is committed to that lot and you are arranging a ride home anyway — at 5 PM on a Grade I Saturday, along with everyone else who reached the same conclusion.
Valet is not guaranteed. Del Mar's own wording is “while supplies last.” On a day stacking a Gr. I stakes card with a sold-capacity tasting, treat valet as a maybe, not a plan.
Del Mar's directions are short: from I-5, “Exit Via de la Valle and head west to the Racetrack.” The track is at 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd, Del Mar, CA 92014. That single interchange is the pinch point — as we've written on our event transportation page, race traffic stacks multiple flows into the same I-5 / Via de la Valle interchange. Leave early regardless of how you travel.
This is specific to this date, and it is the reason we'd push harder than usual on not driving. The National Weather Service San Diego office issued three advisories in the early hours of July 30, 2026:
Read those together with the event: three hours of tasting, outdoors, in advisory-level heat, ending at 5 PM — and an evening drive home along coastal roads that the NWS says may flood at high tide. Heat and alcohol both work against you here.
⚠ This weather block is date-specific and expires with the advisories. Re-verify before publishing after August 2, 2026.
California's limit is not a suggestion, and it is not the whole story. From the California DMV's own driver handbook: “It is illegal for you to drive if you have a BAC of: 0.08% or higher if you are over 21 years old.” The same handbook goes further:
“Even if your BAC is below legal limits, that does not mean it is safe for you to drive. Almost everyone feels negative effects of alcohol, even at levels lower than the legal limit.” And: “Depending on how badly you are impaired, you may be arrested and convicted of a DUI even without a BAC measurement.”
We're not lawyers and this isn't legal advice — it's the state's own published guidance, and the reason a $40-a-seat round trip is the cheapest line item on a day built around tasting 100 wines. Nobody has ever regretted pre-booking the ride home.
It sometimes is, and we'll say so: if you already have a committed non-drinking driver, if you're coming from North County and staying for the full 11-race card well past the tasting, or if you're two people who'd rather spend the difference on the Early Admission tier — general parking at $15 is hard to argue with. Just buy the parking on the way in and settle the driver question before you arrive, not at 5 PM.
This is the best value on the page and we won't pretend otherwise. Del Mar runs a complimentary shuttle on race days from the Solana Beach train station to the racetrack. You can reach Solana Beach on the COASTER (Oceanside to downtown San Diego along the north coast), on Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner, or by connecting from the SPRINTER at Oceanside. NCTD's BREEZE bus also runs from Escondido to Del Mar / Solana Beach. If the train schedule fits your day, take it.
Heads up on a change that lands later: SANDAG approved a regional fare increase on July 17, 2026. COASTER moves to a flat $6.50 adult one-way effective October 1, 2026 — after this event, but worth knowing if you're planning the rest of the meet.
Del Mar has a designated lot: “The rideshare dropoff and pickup lot is located on Jimmy Durante Blvd.” Getting there is usually fine. The 5 PM problem is the return — a tasting that ends on a fixed clock releases a few thousand people into one pickup lot at once, on a day when a Gr. I card is still running. That's the moment surge pricing exists for, and the moment a pre-assigned chauffeur who is already waiting is worth what it costs.
| Option | Cost | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| COASTER/Amtrak + free track shuttle | Fare only | Tied to the train timetable both directions |
| Drive + general parking | $15 | No re-entry; someone must stay sober |
| Drive + valet | $35 | “While supplies last”; same driver problem |
| Rideshare | Varies | 5 PM return is the worst possible pickup window |
| EGT round trip | $120–$200 | Not the cheapest line, and we won't pretend it is |
Del Mar publishes the event as “Saturday, August 1, 2026 @ 2 - 5 PM” at the Seaside Cabana. The $100 Early Admission tier opens tasting at 1 PM; the $84 General Admission tier tastes from 2 PM. Both end at 5 PM.
Yes. Del Mar states the “Event is for Ages 21 & Up only.”
Yes. Del Mar lists racetrack admission, a racing program and tipsheet, and tasting of over 100 wines and bubblies as included. Food is a separate purchase.
On a regular race day: $15 general, $25 preferred, $35 valet, and $35 for limo and bus parking. Fees are charged per vehicle on entry, and Del Mar allows no re-entry.
No. Del Mar's published policy is “No re-entry allowed.” Once your vehicle enters the facility, leaving means giving up your spot.
Del Mar directs rideshare traffic to a dedicated lot: “The rideshare dropoff and pickup lot is located on Jimmy Durante Blvd.”
Yes. Del Mar runs a complimentary shuttle on race days between the Solana Beach train station and the racetrack, which connects with the COASTER and Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner.
Our flat round-trip rates are $120 in the BMW i7 (2 passengers, $60 per seat), $160 in the Rivian R1S (up to 4 passengers, $40 per seat), and $200 in the Cadillac Escalade IQ-L (up to 5 passengers, $40 per seat). To book, call (858) 522-0264.
An 11-race card with gates at 12 PM and first post at 2 PM, headlined by the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (Gr. I, “$400,000 Guaranteed”) and the California Dreamin' Stakes (“$150,000 Guaranteed”).
The National Weather Service issued a Heat Advisory covering the date, in effect “FROM 10 AM FRIDAY TO 8 PM PDT SUNDAY,” with highs “in the mid 80s to around 90 for the mesas and other higher coastal terrain.” Check the current forecast before you go — advisories change.
Every fact on this page traces to one of these. Del Mar's own pages, a state agency, and the National Weather Service — no ticket resellers or event aggregators.