Portland Meadows Race Track

Was pretty bummed that they have gotten rid of the bar seating area outside with the restaurant & servers… The food offerings there now are terrible! Hot dogs & pretzels only!

This place is the perfect place to people watch! You’ve got the total old school folks who’ve been coming here for years, then you have the hipsters who dress up in costumes and pretend to be cool. Love it!

This place is always fun– even if your not a huge gambler. Bet a little, the perfect amount of time between races. My only suggestion is to streamline the food and beverage concessions or add wait service.

«The track» is a magical place. Where else in Portland are you able to enjoy some drinks, place some bets, and watch horses run really fast?
The reason for the four star rating is due to my dissatisfaction with the cancellation of their summer racing. This was one of my favorite things to do the last couple summers. They had such a great set-​up with the new tables and the betting machines under the tent. Oh well, I will still frequent The Track when the 2014 race season opens in October.
Portland Meadows is looking much better after the remodel they did about a year ago. It was a big help to add the additional bar in the middle. This helped to reduce the chaos that the bar on the side was during the major events.
I also adore the guy who comes out to play the horse race trumpet fanfare a little before the post time of each race!

Portland Meadows is my happy place. Betting on the ponies is a blast! All of the wait staff is great, and there are plenty of employees to get you started if you haven’t bet on the track before. The building is a little outdated but I love their marketing and its definitely a better environment than Emerald Downs.

Without question one of my favorite parts of Portland. Insider tip, get there before the first race. Sit in the Winner’s circle bar area and get a comfy seat with some shade in summer.

I don’t know, man… This place is where bad memories go to die.
Being from West Virginia, you’d think I might appreciate the folks who haunt this locale… but it just seemed really sad for some reason.
That said, I have little experience with places like this which probably skewed my perception a bit, so I’ll give 3 vs. 2 stars.

I’ve been here twice. Once for Kentucky Derby and the other for a Unilocal event. For the Kentucky Derby, I paid a price (don’t remember how much it was) that included admission and buffet brunch. I have to say, for me as a vegetarian, it really wasn’t worth the price. The food wasn’t labeled, so hard to tell if there were meats or animal products in the food. And what I did have, was pretty mediocre.
The place just seems to have that rundown feeling. I placed a few bets. The Unilocal event I attended had great drinks, but the food was the same as my first visit. Safe bet that I won’t be returning.

Hey Portland Meadows, the 1970s (or 80s?) called and wants their decorations back. Haha, I kid but this place definitely needs a visual update on just about every part of it.
HOWEVER, I love horse racing enough that I really could care less about the décor, regardless of how outdated it is. I’m definitely not a gambler (the last two times I came here I didn’t spend a single nickel towards gambling.
I spent that money on the drinks. They have your full bar for mixed drinks and beer — but have added some upscale cocktails — my favorite being the classic mojito.
You can hang out up high in the turf club where they have a brunch or you can get down low at the bar near the track. There’s no shortages of places to get drinks while watching the ponies.
As I mentioned before they have a brunch, though food selections on the bottom are more limited to things like heated up pretzels.
If you DO want to bet, there’s a ton of gamblin’ helpers to navigate those confusing as heck menus.
I’ll be back — oh wait, already have been!

This was an awesome Unilocal event I liked laearning how to bet on the horses, and the brunch food was very tast I loved the fruit canapé it was delicious!!: -)

This place is awesome. The level of care and love the employees and operators have for their sport is apparent in every faction of the business.
It’s super helpful that they have staff on hand to offer lessons and guidance on how to bet on horses. I never would have known what to do otherwise!
This is a really fun way to spend an afternoon: sipping on tasty mint juleps, eating, and having some friendly competition in a longtime Portland destination.

The atmosphere at a Horse track is always exciting. Betting money tends to do that. However, once I stepped into Portland Meadows, I thought I stepped into 1982. The décor hasn’t been updated, it’s kinda rundown, and they must have the largest collection of CRT tube TV’s on the west coast. The snack food stands must partner with Skateworld and share their supply of reheated Giant Pretzels. There’s no jumbo tron outside because in this time vaccum it hasn’t been invented yet. I’m not expecting Santa Anita luxury, but this is exactly what I pictured the Horse Track looked like that John Candy wanted to McCauley Culkin to in Uncle Buck.
I’d still come to bet on horsies with friends, but Meadows could use some work.

And they’re off!
Revamped Classic Racetrack is taking a wide lead on the pack — shining like a dusted-​off brown derby hat with a nice new feather in its band.
Following in second is Turf Club, with his zesty breakfasts and tasty Bloody Marys. You know Turf Club from his days of yore, but he’s back in full glory for this race season.
Close on Turf Club’s heels is Lucky Betting Machines! This stud is all over the track and his helpful handlers (aka betting assistants) are there to cheer him (and you) on.
Neck and neck with Lucky Betting Machines is Cocktail Program, with petite jockey Lydia Reissmueller at the helm. She’s got Cocktail Program up to full speed and it’s gaining ground on both the pack leaders as well as my liver!
Fifth but not far back is Starting Gate Bar! This workhorse is galloping full speed to catch up with Turf Club, drafting off of Cocktail Program!
Fresh on his heels is Packed Paddock. You may have seen him in the Paddock during the pre-​race action, and it looks like his lack of a pre-​race dump is holding him back.
Turf Club is falling off, while Lucky Betting Machines, Cocktail Program and Starting Gate Bar are making their move. It’s gonna be a close race, folks. \ Lucky Betting Machines is now in second. Turf Club Hanging in there. Cocktail Program has taken the lead, now all six horses are surging to the finish line. It looks like it’s gonna be a photo finish folks!
We’re not surprised, now are we? We know all these horses run so well, especially together. This beautiful Sunday is a perfect race day, and these horses know it. And Portland Meadows, with it’s shiny new coat of paint, great cocktails and tasty eats is a perfect place to catch the races.
Next post in 30, folks. get those bets in!

When I was a kid growing up in Southern California I used to love the days when my family would go to the race track sit on the grass and play and watch the horses and it was always a blast. This race track is much smaller but it has everything you need to have a great time with friends and family, indoor and outdoor seating, a kids area, food, liquor, lotto, wagers, and its FREE to park and get in! I would say yes, I’m definitely a fan.

Fun! I have no clue about betting, but my other half is adept. We were here for the Kentucky Derby. The staff was very helpful and ready to explain all of the different kinds of wagers available. The crowd was friendly and gregarious. Air-​conditioning and beer, high ceilings and open areas to hangout and watch your race. People were dressed casual and in hats and dresses. It really was «anything goes» in a festive relaxed atmosphere.
We are definitely looking forward to attending some of the live races this summer. It’s a great place to go with a group and kick back.

Great! Free Entry! Great racing and a fun experience. We were first time attendees last year and felt welcome. The staff was helpful. I will be going back and recommend it for all. A great deal, new experience and fun environment.

Horse racing is one of the few types of gaming not legal in Nevada, so this was my first time. Like several of the other reviewers I have nothing to compare against, but it was overall kind of disappointing.
It looks so fun and exciting on tv, the reality wasn’t so much. You see the horses at the start, then you’re kind of just looking at the lighted board to see which horse is winning. We ended up going inside to watch the race on tv instead.
Betting structure was kind of confusing. At least the machines that take bets didn’t judge us for being clueless dumbasses. There was a chart explaining everything but it was counter productive. I’d suggest making friends w one of the senior citizens that were regulars, or better yet, bring someone who knows what’s up.
Weirded me out at first, but evidently a lot of people bring their kids to the track. Guessing bars are off limits of course, but there doesn’t seem to be a designated kid free gambling zone. Cheap food, lots of room to run around, and kids can pet the horses after their races. It’s like a free petting zoo where you can win (or lose) money.
Doubt any of us will go back, but now we can say we’ve been…
[4 of 30]

Summer racing season may be over, and watching mudders (but not fahdders… whee, I slay me!) run in the cold rain may only be for the serious horse gambler, but boy the summer sure was a blast at Portland Meadows!
Free parking, free entry, $ 1 beers, awesome BBQ sold at the big tent outside (complete with betting kiosks so you didn’t have to run inside), a new bar inside with tracks from all over the world running… just good old fashioned fun!
They do need to organize this new bar better… the servers have no idea who they should be serving next. But outside of a little organization, I’ve got nothing negative to say about the job they did this summer… for their first summer racing season in eons.
Keep it up, Portland Meadows. Looking forward to next summer!

Portland Meadows is my local track. I’m an avid horseplayer and I think that the track has more positives than negatives. I haven’t been since live racing ended in March, but am excited for the summer season they are changing to in July. Here’s what I view as the good and bad of Portland Meadows
Good:
–Simulcast area is big and comfortable with big flat screens. I bet on the machines and not with tellers and there are plenty of machines.
–Paddock – you can get up close to the horses and even hear the trainers and jockeys talking.
–Beer! It’s pretty cheap and the bartender is really friendly and efficient
–Announcer– I watch HRTV and TVG all year long and the guy at PM is actually a really good announcer for what a small track it is.
–Jockeys – Not for their riding ability, but when i’ve brought my daughter out, they are really great about coming up and saying hello after the races. Her favorite jockey was this little pretty blonde Czech girl named Elisa Kubinova who was really nice and took a picture with her!
Bad:
–The racing is not the highest quality
–The food is definately not gourmet, but it’s ballpark fare
–Seating for live racing is not very good as the club levels are actually past the finish line and the big part of the stands are closed.
Overall it’s a fun place and it’s free to park and get in. and I hit a big superfecta last year… maybe that’s why i love it :)

Once upon a time I dated a guy who took me to the track on our second date. I fell in love immediately (with both the track and the dude). The guy and I have long since broken up, but the track and I still remain monogamous to each other.
A group of us went last Saturday to watch the derby and we found out that there is going to be evening racing this summer with (shh…don’t tell too many people) $ 1 beer specials!
Only a special kind of relationship offers you $ 1 beers!