The Horses at Northlands Park

Love spending time here. Bet on some horses & the drinks are reasonable priced. Great way to spend a beautiful Wednesday or Friday evening or a Saturday afternoon.

The most fun you can have with $ 20 in your pocket!
I love that we have a track in the city (Calgary folk you are missing out!) as a fun alternative for a night or afternoon out. I too have been to the track for a special event and agree that the real fun is outside watching from beside the track. The energy is high, you watch people get excited or throw fits and it’s fun to get swept up into it. Basic bets are cheap and it’s so much fun to «study» the race program and pick based off of a name (like I do) or off of statistics (where’s the fun in that!?).
Don’t let the crummy food service deter you from a fun afternoon. If you are new to horse racing they have lots of people around who are there to help you understand the kinds of bets and how to place them. I was super awkward when I first went, but everyone is really patient and they see newbies come through all the time.
Give it a shot! You might just get lucky ;)

This past Saturday, Ben and I went to the Canadian Derby. What a show. The horses were fast and incredible to watch. We bet on every race and that just added to the suspense. Luckily, we came out on top overall.
While the races are outside in what can be a rather hot sun, there is always the option to take a break and venture into the casino for a real washroom, and some electronic gaming, and there are TVs that show the track.
I must say that the staff were all amazing. Cheerful, friendly, helpful, and they had a great sense of humor. These all made the experience… a good experience overall.
What I didn’t appreciate:
1. The VIP section lacked enough seating in the area near the finish line for all the VIP guests to have a seat.
2. Outside the casino, the many bars had no cranberry juice (to make a cape cod) and only one red or one white wine available.
3. The floors of the VIP section were awful! I can’t emphasize this enough if you happen to wear a heel. The flooring had holes in it that were just the right size for a kitten heel or stiletto heel to get stuck, so good luck taking advantage of the VIP options, when you have to tippy toe around the VIP tent. the heels get trapped by the floor, you have to remove your foot from your show and hand your belongings to someone while you use two hands to try to free your shoe. Let’s not get into the embarrassment of the tables of people snickering at the many women who were trapped at least 4 – 7 times throughout the 7 hour event. This has to be my biggest aggravation of the day, as it ruined the heel of my favorite red peep toes.
4. While the website may have said the VIP section was covered, don’t be fooled. Only the food/​performance tent is covered. The tent area has no view, and you need to go to the top of the infield bleachers in order to see a decent portion of the track (because that’s why you go to the track, to watch the races that last less than two minutes each). There was no shelter or shade beyond that. I’m glad it didn’t rain.
5. The cornbread was dry, hard and gritty. I love cornbread, but this was terrible. The tender tasty pulled pork and buns were maybe my favorite option. There were deserts set out, but in the heat, the cakes were melting and the fruit was warm. I honestly expected better.
6. I can appreciate that it is hard to cool an outdoor area, but a couple of fans in the tent to move the air around would have made for a much more comfortable meal.
7. I was shocked that about ²⁄₃ the way through the event, the women’s washrooms in the VIP area ran out of all paper. Numerous people notified nearby staff, with no attention paid, but I believe they were the catering staff and did not know who to tell. I felt bad for the woman that was clearly 6+ months pregnant, with a toddler at her side.
All in all, there may be certain events that I really want to see — at least once — while living in Edmonton that will only be available at Northlands Park and I will find myself back there. I would not recommend going to Northlands Park with the expectations that it will be well thought out or suitable for higher end functions. If it were not for the stellar entertainment and the friendly staff, I would have given a single solitary star.
Maybe next year I will bring a fan, an even bigger hat, some tissues, and wear a chunkier heel, and my experience will be different.

I love the horse races, but I find that at Northlands Park they are out of touch. There have overpriced drinks, poor quality of food and really awful service. We went to sit outside up top in seats and everything was covered with bird poop. I feel sorry for the people who sit in the boxes, I would think it would be very disappointing to show up their with clients and unable to sit or serve them food because of a lack of cleanliness. Derby Day is coming up… here is hoping the poop is removed, and some type of disinfecting is done. Because seriously… those tables are covered! How would anyone feel comfortable paying money, eating and drinking where it likely is not going to be clean? Shame on you Northlands… take some pride!

Service is terrible again at the races.
Waiter (Austin) brings food. Knocks my drink over. Yes he apologizes. Leaves with out asking what I was drinking, so he could replace it. Not only that. He didn’t come back to clean his mess up. Only after we told the next waitress that brought food. She said I’ll bring him back here. Wth is going on.
Why are the staff so terrible at being servers?
Could it be a lack of training or a lack of giving a damn???
I am so sick and tired of the terrible service here and in what seems to be every other establishment in this city and out country.
It is discussing. I am so disappointed in our younger generations ability to be good at working in the service industry.
Maybe they should all stay I front of their PS3’s /​Xboxes and or Wii’s
It is pathetic.

Ok… I’m just going to put it out there and say off the bat that «I LOVE the track!»
I always have so much fun coming to Northlands for the races, it is unbelievable how many people that live in Edmonton have never taken the time to spend a night at the races — hubby and I looooove it (and not just because he is a degenerative gambler with a «Rain Man» ability to always win! Seriously, I don’t know how he does it!)
From a normal Friday night, to the fabulous Canadian Derby and in between. Northlands has the races down! But, they are not with out faults: I have attended ‘sit down’ dinner events, as they like to call it «A Night At The Races», a fabulous venue choice for any event because of the interactive nature of the races happening during you event and all the fun that comes with it — what I don’t like: you are stuck in your seat for 3– 4 courses and you might as well be in a hotel ballroom — Why? Because the fun of the announcers of the races is muted out! What? Why? I want to hear the race! Also, too air conditioned, I was freezing, inside! And they need to deliver food to the places at more of a consistent rate.

Most of my experiences with Northlands were visiting it in the summer during Klondike days. It has always been a relief to duck into a clean, air conditioned building when stomping around on the fairgrounds in the heat. They have a few deli style quick restaurants that serve great sandwiches during the exhibition.
When a friend asked if I wanted to go in a group to watch harness racing on a Friday night in November and eat their buffet dinner I couldn’t resist — I wanted to see how Northlands was during regular operation. The facility itself is great. Bright, modern, and welcoming. Our seats were in the first row of tables facing the track, so we had a great view of the races, as well as a TV to show us what was going on when the horses were at the far side. It was a lot of fun to pick horses to cheer on, and also to make small bets ($ 2 minimum) on some of the races.
The buffet was top notch. A large variety of food was included, with carved roast beef as the centerpiece. There were two soups, bread, salad, various marinated veggie, potato and pasta salads, potatos, stir fry and baked pasta dishes. I had to go back twice to taste everything, and the food was delicious.
I would have given Northlands a higher star rating, except the service at our table was totally dismal. We had all finished our first plates of food, and were part way through our second plates before a server came to our table (nearly half an hour). Thank goodness — we really wanted water. We also ordered a round of drinks to go with our food. When the drinks came, the server dropped the beer glasses, and I could see him shaking when setting the drinks down. Another half hour passed, and a member of our group went and found someone to ask for a pitcher of water for refills. Our server didn’t come back to ask if we wanted any more drinks, and when we wanted a second pitcher of beer, someone else had to go find him at another table and ask. The only time he came to our table without us asking was to drop off the bill. It was clear from the outset that we were planning on ordering drinks, but our bill was much lower because we weren’t able to order them! I’d go again for the food and races, but they really need to step it up with their staff and table service.

It’s been years since I went to see the horses at Northlands. As a kid, I remember climbing on the cement step by the fence and cheering on the horses. The step seems much lower now! The outdoor seating is more comfortable now, although they still have the metal benches, they have nice outdoor patio seating now. There was a BBQ and you could get a turkey drumstick for $ 4. It’s close to the area where you can get a close view of the horses before the race.
You can buy tickets inside the doors from the outside, they have the self serve machines as well as in person. This is great if you are new to betting or need help. They also offer a wagering 101 on their website.
If racing isn’t your thing, they have slot machines on the main floor. Don’t worry if you didn’t bring much cash, they have ATMs all around! There’s also a place you can order some finger food.
Upstairs, they have indoor seating and can get a great view of the race and finish line. They also offer a buffet so you can enjoy dinner while watching the horses. If you don’t want to eat at the buffet, they have a couple of concessions where you can get a burger, pizza, sandwich, or pasta salad. You can also bet on races from other tracks in Canada and US.
If you are planning on going to K-​Days, keep the Horses in mind if you want a break from the rides and crowds. It’s also a good place for clean washrooms, cheaper food than fairgrounds, and water fountain to fill up your bottle. If you get a player’s card, you may get free parking too.
Not a place for everyone but could be a fun night filled with food, gambling, and fun. Free parking is also good.