The 35th edition of the $1,000,000 Pacific Classic, the west’s richest stakes race, tops a sparkling roster of 37 stakes slated for presentation at Del Mar this summer during its 87th season of Thoroughbred sport alongside the deep, blue Pacific.

As it has in all its recent runnings, the $1-Million “Classic” will headline a card featuring an array of Graded stakes. Besides the Grade I centerpiece run at the classic American distance of a mile and one quarter, the Saturday, August 22 card also will present the Grade I, $300,000 Del Mar Oaks presented by Keeneland Sales for 3-year-old fillies, the Grade II, $300,000 Del Mar Mile for 3-year-olds and up and the $200,000 Green Flash Handicap, enhanced this year from a Grade III to a Grade II event.

Del Mar opens its summer season on Friday, July 17, featuring 32 days of racing through Monday, September 7, Labor Day.

All told, the stakes schedule will offer $7,775,000 in purses, including five overnight stakes each carrying a $100,000 prize. Additionally, there have been two purses magnified on the regular schedule – the Green Flash boosted from $150,000 to $200,000 as noted, and the traditional opening day Ceasars Sportsbook Oceanside Handicap increased from $100,000 to $150,000 for its 81st presentation.

The seaside track will present six Grade I stakes over the course of its eight weeks of racing. The first of those is the $400,000 Bing Crosby on July 25 for 3-year-olds and up at six furlongs, followed by the $400,000 Clement L. Hirsch on August 1 for fillies and mares at a mile and one-sixteenth.

Then comes the two previously noted top-tier offerings on August 22 – the Pacific Classic and the Del Mar Oaks – followed by the $300,000 Del Mar Debutante on September 5 and the $300,000 Del Mar Futurity on September 6. Those last two seven-furlong tests are the championship races for 2-year-olds at the meet – the Debutante for fillies and the Futurity open to all.

Moreover, the track will offer 10 Grade II stakes and five Grade III events during its summer stand. Also, 18 of the added-money races will be conducted on the heralded Jimmy Durante Turf Course and eight of the stakes have been designated for California-bred runners.

Other changes of note on the lineup consist of four 2-year-old races lengthened by half a furlong. Both the CTBA Stakes (August 2) and the Graduation Stakes (August 7) will stretch out to five and one-half furlongs, while the Generous Portion Stakes (September 4) and the I’m Smokin Stakes (September 7) now go at six panels.

Six Del Mar stakes have been designated Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” races: Bing Crosby (Sprint), Clement L. Hirsch (Distaff), Green Flash (Turf Sprint), Pacific Classic (Classic), Del Mar Handicap (Turf) and Pat O’Brien (Dirt Mile).

“This stakes schedule showcases the very best of Del Mar racing, highlighted by the $1-Million Pacific Classic and six Grade I events, and offers a wide range of opportunities for our horsemen and horsewomen,” said Del Mar president Josh Rubinstein.

“Del Mar’s 2026 stakes schedule reflects a continued commitment to quality, competitiveness and opportunity,” said Gary Fenton, chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners of California. “From the $1-Million Pacific Classic to a deep supporting program, this is the kind of structure that benefits owners, horsemen and the long-term health of California racing.”

First post daily at Del Mar will be 2 p.m. That will hold true for the entire meet, up to closing weekend in September when the Saturday, Sunday and Monday cards will go off at 1:30 p.m.

The list of stakes follows: