Emerald Downs - Rainier Terrace

It was my first time ever to go see the horses race. Was with girlfriends & we had such a good time. It was a rainy day but towards the end, the rain let up & we went down to the track area for that ground level view. We even got to talk to Dan, the trumpeter. I really enjoyed the musicality he added to the whole experience!

Maybe it's the pandemic, maybe it's the fact that racing is so seasonal in the Northwest, I dunno, I have fond memories of a classy venue that doesn't really exist anymore. Food is sketchy, drinks were pretty good. I like the Native American influence (we went to see the Indian Relay Races, which were awesome) but staffing is short. The place is in disrepair (escalators not working) and the ebbulence of the past is missing. Ordered the Mac and Cheese off the menu and it was inedible. Chicken wings, same. Cheesesteak on the grandstand level was decent. But really, it shouldn't be that hard to tighten up the ops and restore the experience of a 1st class racing establishment. Despite all this, I do recommend the races at Emerald Downs as a fun way to spend the day. I just think they can do better and hopefully they'll keep working on it.

We ended up buying food at the Grill there and had simply asked if they used peanut oil, as one in our family was allergic. The response from the staff was in odd in that they said they were volunteers. No effort was made to verify their ingredients. I addition, they served our ice cream without gloves. This is clearly a training issue which is compounding into a food safety one.