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Originally Posted by 2MinsToPost
After spending part of the Kentucky Cup weekend at Turfway Park, which was my first visit to this facility for live racing, I can't help but ask this question to those whom have been their.
Note - this thread has nothing to do with the racing surface but rather the facility itself.
The paddock is great, no question about it. The restauraunt along the front stretch outside of turn 4 is great with the flat screen tv's, great food and service (prime rib buffet was to die for). Too bad if you want to stay their the whole night you have to watch the tv and not the track to get ANY view of the racing action .......................unless..................... ...................
You opt to mingle with the hundreds on the front stretch and just hope to catch a glimpse amoungst all the people who are their for the party, not the racing. No lie, on Friday night I would estimate that 75% of those mingling on the fronstretch did not even have a form in their hands but rather a $1 draft.
So, you mingle up a flight of stairs and try to catch a better seat, a better place to watch the races. The view is better upstairs, if you don't mind the stuffy cramped grandstand with inadequate concessions if you are not interested in alcohol or decent food. Not to mention the seating is just like Beulah Park, no offense to my home track but come on.
As we drove home from this weekend excursion the resounding thoughts we had was that Turway is simply put Beulah Park on a larger scale. It is time for this event to be held at River Downs, a class facility that has customer service in mind. The Racebook sitting off of turn 1 at River Downs is top notch, the open air seatin in the grandstand is great, the facility bottom line at River Downs beats Turfway in EVERY ANGLE.
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You are right on about the paddock and restauraunt at Turfway being good.
Since when is a party atmosphere at the track a bad thing. On friday nights and last Sat, that place was jumping with hundereds and hundreds of people drinking and having a good time. Theres the corona tent and all the beer stands set up, it really is like a party atmosphere and that is a positive. I would reccomend anybody who hasn't been to a Turfway friday night in September to give it a try. It is one of the most fun places in the Cincinnati area on a weekend. Unfortunately it is only like that for the fall meet. Who cares if they don't have a form? So you can't walk up to a random stranger and talk about the upcoming race? Who cares, come with somebody that is into the racing too. Comparing the grandstand at Turfway to the grandstand at River Downs is a joke too. Half the seats at River Downs are broken or can't support a 130 pound person. Half the Tv's are out and have been out for over 5 years. You can't sit on a seat in River Downs without getting your rear end dirty from the dust and thats not an exaggeration. Turfway has 10 times as many Tv's and newer seating. Also, it's much more spacious. The food at the Turfway concessions is extremely good, you can get almost anything from a fish sandwich to chicken fingers to ribs. At river downs, you can choose between a soft pretzel hot dog and popcorn. And to call River downs a class facility is a joke. I go at least 75 times a year because I live 10 min. away and that place is the opposite of class. Turfway at least has it's moments where the place is packed, and theres something for everybody whether they want to sit and watch the races or mingle down by the corona tent in the party area. The paddock is exceptional and was amazing to be in before the kentucky cup classic. River Downs and Turfway aren't even in the same league.