A day at the races works best when the whole party rides in together and nobody is appointed the driver who has to skip the fun. Both of Southern California’s marquee tracks sit far enough from Long Beach to make carpooling a chore, and both swallow huge crowds on a big card. When we carry a race day group ourselves, the people we collect at one curb in the morning are the same people we deliver home that evening, and what happens at the betting windows in between is entirely their business.
This post walks through how we run a race day outing to Santa Anita and to Del Mar, how the parking and timing differ between the two tracks, and how far ahead to reserve during the meet. With a date and a rough headcount in hand, our group transportation services start with a phone call. Reach us at 562-259-8490 to put a 56 passenger charter bus on your card, or get a race day quote through the online form, and we will map the pickup from your end of town.
A Day at the Races as a Group
The appeal of a race day group bus is simple. Everyone arrives at the same gate at the same minute, settles in together, and leaves together when the day is done, which means no one is counting drinks against the drive home and no one is waiting in a parking structure for a friend who wandered off to the paddock. A group that travels on one coach also tends to stay a group once inside the track, since they enter as a unit rather than trickling in across an hour.
Santa Anita Park in Arcadia is the closer of the two and the easier weekday trip, roughly 40 to 55 minutes out under normal conditions. Del Mar sits down the coast and runs about 1.5 to 1.75 hours each way, so the seaside meet plays better as a full day built around the drive. We handle the route either way, drop the party at the appropriate gate, and hold the coach so the ride home is already settled before the first race goes off.
Historic Arcadia racetrack against the San Gabriel foothills with roughly 19,650 parking spaces and a group sales desk that handles parties of ten or more. The large lots take a motorcoach without trouble, which makes the drop and the afternoon pickup straightforward.
285 W Huntington Drive, Arcadia, CA 91007
santaanita.com
Seaside track and fairgrounds where the surf meets the turf, with large lots that stage charter coaches and a summer meet that draws heavy crowds. The longer drive down the coast makes it a full day trip, so we plan the return for after the last race.
2260 Jimmy Durante Boulevard, Del Mar, CA 92014
dmtc.com
Charter Parking at Santa Anita and Del Mar
Parking is where a coach quietly earns its place on a race day. Santa Anita keeps a great deal of room, with something close to 19,650 spaces spread across its lots, and that scale means a 56 passenger charter bus can pull in, set the party down near a gate, and clear the lane without circling. Because the track runs a group sales program for parties of ten or more, larger outings often have a designated area waiting, and we confirm the active drop point before the date since lot access can shift with whatever else is on the calendar.
Del Mar carries its own large lots, though the seaside setting and the summer crowds change the rhythm of a busy afternoon. We tend to drop the group at the gate and then stage the coach until the meet winds down, rather than running back and forth, because the longer haul from Long Beach makes a single hold the cleaner plan. Track policies and bus staging can change season to season, so we reconfirm the routing rather than lean on last year’s setup, and we never promise a lot we have not verified for your date.
Booking a Race Day Coach for the Season
Race meets run on a calendar, and the calendar is what drives our booking advice. Santa Anita’s main season falls across the cooler months, while Del Mar’s headline meet lands in summer, and on the marquee days of either meet our coaches fill early. For a big stakes day or a holiday card, we ask groups to reserve as far ahead as the date allows, since the busy Saturdays are the first to go.
A few details let us quote the day cleanly and run the morning without guesswork:
- The track, the race date, and a near final headcount so we size the seating
- Your pickup address in or around Long Beach and a morning departure time
- Whether the group wants one pickup point or a second stop on the way out
- The plan for the return, including a hold for the party after the last race
Once those pieces are set, we build the route and the timing around them. For groups new to chartering an outing like this, our group outing bus service page lays out how we handle event days from the first call through the ride home.
A Coach Sized to a Race Day Party
The vehicle question answers itself once the headcount lands. A single coach seats up to 56 riders, which covers most race day parties in one trip, and when a group runs past that number we put a second coach alongside the first rather than crowd a single bus. Our 56 passenger charter bus brings overhead storage and a restroom on board, both of which matter more on the longer Del Mar run than on the shorter hop to Arcadia.
On price, a 50 to 56 passenger charter bus generally runs $180 to $500+ per hour and $1,800 to $3,800 per day, with the day rate often the better fit for a full race day that stretches from the morning departure to the evening return. The longer Del Mar trip may be quoted per day or per mile depending on how the hours fall, since the drive eats a larger share of the clock. Our price guide lays out the rate card, and for a figure tied to your date and track, call 562-259-8490.
A Long Beach Race Day Outing
Here is the shape of a typical day when we run a Long Beach group to the track. We collect everyone at one curb in the late morning, make the drive to Santa Anita or down the coast to Del Mar, and set the party down at the gate with time to spare before the first race. Then the coach holds nearby, the group spends the afternoon at the windows and the rail, and we begin the return once the last race is in the books and everyone is accounted for.
Holding for the party after the final race is the part most groups are glad they arranged, since a track empties fast and the lots back up at once. With the coach already waiting, the exit stays calm and the ride home starts on the group’s schedule rather than a scramble. You hand the track, the date, and the clock to Charter Bus Rental Company Long Beach, and we hold the schedule together while you enjoy the card.
If the group’s calendar runs to other corners of the region, the same approach travels well. Mountain parties book our Lake Arrowhead group ride, and those headed to the vineyards lean on our winery tasting transportation for a day among the tasting rooms.
