Horse Racing, Celtic Day, Fiesta in the Park and more at Arlington Racetrack

Place your bet on having a great time at the Arlington Park Race Track, located in Arlington Heights, IL. If you love horses, want to win some extra cash or just looking for something fun to do, plan a day at the races! The horses are exciting to watch race and beautiful to see.

Sundays at Arlington are often family days complete with fun entertainment. A wide variety of vendors can be found inside the facility and outside just up from the track. Celtic Day was a great example of a fun event, complete with bag pipers and talented dancers dressed in bright purple, blue and maroon plaids.

Festive music, dancing, brilliant costumes and ethnic food fill the park during this fiesta at the race track. I loved the colors of the costumes and couldn't stop taking pictures. They were absolutely beautiful. This is an annual celebration and once you've experienced it you won't want to miss it the next year.

In the grassy area next to the track a wide variety of seating options appeal to large groups and families with small children. Spreading out a large blanket to sit and picnic on is favorable or setting up your meal on one of the white picnic tables scattered about works too. The open tables go fast, so get there early. You can also bring your own lawn chairs if you like. Reserved park picnic tables and canopy seating are also available.

Along the race track are rows of nice wood and iron benches to relax on while you watch the race and crowds of people. They're comfortable to sit on, and offer a nice amount of space to spread out your food, drinks and racing forms.

Its fun to be a part of the spectators that rush to the rail to get a better look at the horses as they round the corner and roar up the track. That close to the track your able to feel the thunder of the horses hooves under your feet as they rush past in a blur for the big win.

On June 25, 2011 Arlington Park celebrated the State of Illinois with the Prairie State Festival of Racing. It was a beautiful day at the park full of horse racing fans ready for some fun. Another attraction stole our attention and that was the energetic, talented, and incredible Jesse White Tumblers! They literally flew over one another flipping, spinning, tucking, and finally landing on their feet.

The Jesse White tumbling team has been going strong since 1959. It is a non for profit organization that makes over 1000 appearances a year. Who is Jesse White? He is the first African-American to serve as Illinois Secretary of State. He was sworn into office on January 11, 1999.

Mascots from all over came to dance and party the day away at Arlington Park. Children and adults danced and shook hands with these big colorful, funny and sometimes furry mascots.

It was a party atmosphere with fun things to see and do for everyone. Be sure to check out the Arlington Park web site calendar of events. You won't want to miss out on all the fun!

Pony rides, face painting, a petting zoo along with horse racing made for a fun packed day at the race track. We recently took our four year old grandson to the track for the first time and he had a blast!

He rode a pony, won a t-shirt at the Chicago Cubs baseball booth, and played with Lego's at the LEGOLAND table. He also stood track side and watched the horses thunder by just a few feet away. While feeding a goat in the petting zoo he laughed so hard when the goat grabbed the cup away and ate that too.