Horse Racing Tracks in the Mahoning Valley Area

The Mahoning Valley area has an abundance of entertainment venues, so whether you’re looking for somewhere to get a little exercise and some fresh air, watch some dirt track racing, or bet on some horses, the area has you covered. If ponies are more your style, Ohio offers some of the best horse racing tracks in the country. A few of its facilities offer year-round racing, while others are seasonal, but many offer live simulcast races from other tracks. Stop in at one of these tracks and place a bet on what horses you believe have the best chances.

JACK ThistleDown Racino

Founded in 1924, this racetrack is in North Randell on 21501 Emery Road and has hosted a variety of races throughout the years. It’s home to the Ohio Derby and the Best of Ohio series. Extensive seating is available in its grandstand, which has 6,000 seats, and its clubhouse holds an additional 2,500 people. The site also has enough stalls for 1,500 horses.
Live racing occurs on the 1-mile track from April through October with races on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Weekday races have their first post time at 12:50 p.m., and Saturday’s post time is at 12:20 p.m. The track also broadcasts live simulcast races from other tracks scattered across the country.

Mahoning Valley Race Course

Located at 655 N. Canfield Niles Road in Youngstown, Mahoning Valley Race Course is a relatively new facility after it opened its doors in 2015. Its 1-mile, 80-foot-wide oval track is used for thoroughbred racing. Its stretch is 1,000 feet long, creating some dramatic race endings. Watch the races from the enclosed grandstand that can seat 1,000 spectators. Most races feature between seven or eight horses competing. The track hosts live racing events on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday. The first post time for the weekday races is at 12:45 p.m., while the Saturday race is at 12:15 p.m.

Children can come with an adult to watch the races, but those who bet on the races must be at least 18 years of age. The track has mutuel tellers as well as self-service betting machines. From October through April, head to the racecourse to watch simulcast racing of thoroughbred and harness races daily from 12 until 10 p.m.

The Meadows Racetrack and Casino

Located in Washington, Pennsylvania, at 20 Racetrack Road, The Meadows Racetrack and Casino is the perfect spot to catch live horse racing all year. Many tracks in the country don’t race as many days out of the year as this one does, as it features more than 200 days of live races. Its 5/8-mile oval track means that for a standard harness race, horses start at the backstretch and proceed through three turns. The track consists of traditional stone dust, and it lacks a hub rail so the inner portions are marked by pylons.

These live harness races occur Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with a start time of 12:45 p.m. In addition to hosting its own harness races, the facility offers simulcast horse racing from around the country every day. Watch one of the races from the grandstand in one of its 500 seats.

MGM Northfield Park

Found at 10777 Northfield Road in Northfield Park, this track is the state’s only remaining commercial harness racing track. Established more than 60 years ago, the racetrack began as a dog racing facility, but that was scrapped for auto racing. Interest in auto racing waned in the 1950s, so the original grandstand was razed and MGM Northfield Track was created. Today, it provides live racing year-round with at least one race per week. Known as the “Home of the Flying Turns” due to its unique track configuration, the site hosts a variety of races including The Battle of Lake Erie.

The facility is enclosed in glass with seating for 4.300 in the grandstand and 1,500 in the clubhouse. It also boasts parking for about 6,000 vehicles. Horses race around the .5-mile-long track with post times at 7 p.m. Simulcast races are offered daily, except on Christmas when the track is closed. Self-service wagering and program stands are available. You can use one of the mutuel tellers 15 minutes before the first post.

Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack, and Resort

Nestled in the hills of northern West Virginia in Cumberland at 1420 Mountaineer Circle, this facility has 77 acres of entertainment. First opened in 1951 as Waterford Park, the track was renamed Mountaineer Racetrack in 2001. Today, live thoroughbred racing takes place Sunday through Wednesday with the first post time at 7 p.m. You can also watch the live simulcast of the races on its website via the Live Stream button. The racing season usually runs from April through early December.

Presque Isle Downs and Casino

On the other side of the state border at 8199 Perry Highway in Erie, Pennsylvania, lies Presque Isle Downs and Casino. The 1-mile oval track hosted its first race in 2007 and was the first synthetic horse racetrack longer than 1 mile in the Northeast and the first in the country to be paved with Tapeta, which is a mixture of sand, fiber, and rubber with a wax coating. The facility is now owned by Churchill Downs, which is well-known in the horse racing community for its track in Louisville, Kentucky.

Stop in year-round and make bets on the live simulated races, or watch in-person races during the warmer months, ending in October. Its races typically occur Monday through Thursday, with many of them having a first post time of 5:25 p.m., although in 2020 the track bumped up the times to 4:45 p.m. since there were no spectators allowed. The facility has almost 900 stalls for horses.

We know that we offer a different kind of horsepower under our vehicles’ hoods, but at Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC we also love everything about horse racing. These are just a few of our favorite tracks to visit in the Mahoning Valley area. Do you have a favorite track that didn’t make our list? Let us know so we can add it.