FOX Sports to Become Exclusive Television Home of Del Mar Racing in 2027
FOX Sports will add one of American racing’s most recognizable venues to its expanding television portfolio beginning in 2027, becoming the exclusive home of live coverage from Del Mar under a new multi-year agreement announced by the New York Racing Association and Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.
The arrangement will bring both Del Mar’s summer and fall meetings to FOX Sports, further extending the network’s relationship with NYRA and strengthening its presence across the sport’s most important racing seasons. The agreement also puts Saratoga and Del Mar—two of the nation’s premier summer destinations—under the same national television umbrella.
Before the full-season package begins, FOX Sports will offer viewers an early look at Del Mar’s marquee racing. FS1 is scheduled to televise the Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic live on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026.
For FOX Sports, the addition of Del Mar fills out an already substantial racing lineup. The network’s current portfolio includes coverage of the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, Saratoga Race Course and the new Belmont Park, which is scheduled to begin hosting racing in September. Through its media-rights agreement with NYRA, FOX Sports presents more than 1,000 hours of live racing programming each year.
Michael Mulvihill, president of Insights and Analytics for Fox Corporation, said the partnership gives the network a presence at the signature summer meetings on both sides of the country.
“There’s no more beautiful venue in racing than the place where the turf meets the surf,” Mulvihill said. “By adding Del Mar to our longtime coverage of Saratoga, FOX Sports will be the home of the best in summertime racing on both coasts.”
Mulvihill added that FOX Sports has steadily built a racing portfolio featuring several of the country’s most historic and celebrated tracks, with further growth expected.
Del Mar Thoroughbred Club president Josh Rubinstein said the organization welcomed the opportunity to become part of FOX Sports’ broader racing presentation alongside NYRA.
“The Del Mar team is excited that our premier race meets will be part of FOX Sports’ dynamic racing coverage,” Rubinstein said. “We’re happy to join our friends at the New York Racing Association in this effort.”
Rubinstein pointed to Del Mar and Saratoga as the standard-bearers for summer racing on their respective coasts and said the agreement will allow FOX Sports to showcase both venues and their top-level competition together.
The move represents another significant shift in the way American racing is presented to a national audience. Del Mar has long been one of the sport’s strongest television properties, combining high-quality racing with the unmistakable backdrop of its Southern California setting. Pairing that product with FOX Sports’ established NYRA coverage creates a coast-to-coast package built around two meetings that have traditionally defined the summer calendar.
Opened in 1937, Del Mar was founded by entertainer Bing Crosby as a racing and entertainment destination “where the turf meets the surf.” The seaside track’s annual summer meeting consistently attracts many of the country’s leading horses, trainers and jockeys while offering the richest purses on the West Coast. It has also developed into a Southern California institution and one of the region’s best-known sporting attractions.
With FS1’s 2026 Pacific Classic broadcast serving as the introduction, Del Mar’s full transition to exclusive FOX Sports television coverage will begin with the track’s 2027 racing season.
