Steve M

Review of Los Alamitos Race Course

Quaint little track that has a nostalgic feel. Unf...

Quaint little track that has a nostalgic feel. Unfortunately it's in need of an upgrade as well. The live racing aspect is pretty cool and has a loyal following. The locals seem to enjoy the intimate experience and interaction. The facility is so-so. I went out a couple exits from the 2nd floor of the grandstand and they were dirty, dark and frankly didn't feel safe as they let you out in weird places. There were sandbags and trash almost blocking the doors. The simulcast isn't horrible when it comes to most major tracks, but they book partial cards and races every day and that's very, very annoying. While you can pretty much count on a track like Gulfstream or Belmont to have every race offered for betting, you literally have no idea what's running overall and have to insert a voucher to see what races are available for a particular track. For example, they may only book races 3-5 at the Meadowlands out of the 12 offered. I've actually not encountered this anywhere across the country and was disappointed. On top of that they charge $5 admission in the clubhouse just for simulcasting but the machines are newer and work fine. Apparently the state of horse racing is a bit hazy in So Cal with the rumored sale of Los Al and Del Mar as well (according to a nice and well-informed lady at the info booth). They have some red tape and in-fighting that includes Indian Tribes, etc. Oh well, if you haven't been it's definitely worth a weekend stop.