City: Cincinnati, OH

Category: Spectator Sports

Telephone: (859) 647-4711, (800) 815-2808

Address: 7500 Turfway Road

Description: Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky holds meets in September and October and December through the first of April. Turfway likes to think it offers “Major League Horse Racing” and for good reason: It’s the 11th most lucrative racetrack in the country, according to Thoroughbred Times Statistical Review, with an average daily purse of $175,000. Those statistics by themselves are major league, but the track also hosts special events such as the Lane’s End Stakes, one of the richest Triple Crown prep races in the country.This $500,000 race is run six weeks before the Kentucky Derby and four winners—Lil E. Tee, Prairie Bayou, Hansel, and Summer Squall—have gone on to win a Triple Crown race. Turfway also has another big race day in September with the Kentucky Cup Day of Champions.The track also houses the area’s largest restaurant (reservations are suggested), with a very good menu, tables that overlook the track, and personal TV monitors at each table for close-ups of the race or for watching simulcast races.A section known as the Race Book is for serious bettors and includes more than 600 TV monitors to keep up with what’s going on at other tracks around the country. The track also has a betting guide to help beginners at the track.Admission is free, although a charge is required for the dining room, with a $7 minimum. Parking also is free.