While most affiliate horse racing with a famous spring weekend in Kentucky, here in the Southwest a taste of the track can be had mid-winter.  

Horse Racing starts at Rillito Park Race Track this January and Tucsonans can take in the all the action at the historic venue.

A trip to Rillito Park Race Track in Tucson proves horse racing is still a popular spectator sport. Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses gallop around the 5/8-mile oval track as racing fans watch and wager from the grandstand or the clubhouse, and refreshments are sold at snack bars, beverage bars and a clubhouse restaurant.

Rillito Park Race Track opened in 1943 and is the birthplace of American Quarter Horse racing in the United States; it is the home of the "photo finish;" and it features the country's first Quarter Horse Chute, or starting system, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The 2011 season runs consecutive weekends, January 15 - February 20, (excluding Super Bowl, February 5-6). Post time is 1 p.m. Be sure to check out the action while the racing window is open and the weather is superb.

To Learn More

Rillito Park Race, 520.293.5011, www.pimacountyattractions.com/Attractions/Rillito.html.