Updated by Ziv Chen
Writer
Fact Checked by Lee James Gwilliam
Senior Vice-President
Oaklawn Casino Resort Review for April 2026
Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort is one of the most historically significant thoroughbred racetracks in the United States. Since its $100 million expansion in 2021, it is also now one of the more complete casino resort experiences in the mid-South.
It sits at the southern end of Central Avenue in Hot Springs, Arkansas, 2.3 miles from the entrance to Hot Springs National Park, surrounded by the Ouachita Mountains, and deeply embedded in a city that rewards anyone who bothers to look past the surface. Historic Bathhouse Row lines the avenue downtown. The national park sits in the middle of town. And at the track itself, the history of American thoroughbred racing is written into the dirt oval in a way that very few venues anywhere in the country can claim.
Oaklawn opened in 1904, the city declaring a holiday to mark the occasion, and has been on the road to the Kentucky Derby ever since. Secretariat prepared for his Triple Crown here, and American Pharoah won the Rebel Stakes and Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn in 2015 on his way to becoming the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years.
It is, by any serious measure, one of the premier proving grounds for young thoroughbreds in North America. The Arkansas Derby alone now carries a $1.5 million purse, and the full Racing Festival of the South stakes programme represents one of the richest concentrations of prize money in American racing outside of the major tracks.
The casino side of the operation came with the 2019 authorisation of full casino gambling in Arkansas under Amendment 100. But Oaklawn had been building toward this for years and the 2021 expansion delivered a genuinely luxurious resort around the racetrack: a Forbes-recommended 198-room hotel, Arkansas's only Forbes Four-Star rated spa, two Wine Spectator-awarded restaurants, and a 15,000 square foot event center.
Getting There
Hot Springs is about 55 miles southwest of Little Rock, roughly an hour on US-70 and then US-270. From Dallas it is around four hours northeast. From Memphis it is approximately three hours west. From Tulsa it is about three hours east. Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock is the practical flying option for most visitors.
Parking on non-race days is free. On race days parking costs $5 per car, but that is quite a modest fee in reality. General admission to the track and to the casino is free every day, but reserved seats and track boxes can be purchased in advance for race days. The property is entirely walkable once you're there, with the casino, hotel, spa, and restaurants all integrated into the same complex.
Casino Review
The casino floor is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is entirely smoke-free throughout, which is increasingly rare in American casino environments and consistently appreciated by visitors. I am certainly one of those.
Arkansas authorised full Class III gaming under its 2018 constitutional amendment and that was significant. It means conventional slots, real dice craps, roulette, blackjack, the complete range without California-style substitutions or Class II limitations.
The casino's physical integration with the racetrack is one of its defining characteristics. The First Turn bar, with its heated outdoor balcony overlooking the racetrack, brings the two worlds together in one of the more atmospheric places at any casino in the South.
Table Games
Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort has 30 live table games, which seems about right for me. There is little more frustrating than walking through a casino and seeing dozens of empty tables that are not even worth opening. The tables at Oaklawn cover:
The sportsbook handles wagering on professional and college sports, and the Oaklawn Anywhere app allows mobile wagering on horse races for registered users.
Slots
There are over 1,400 slot machines covering the casino floor and the line-up is regularly refreshed with popular new releases. That, to me, is always a hallmark of a great casino. As a non-smoker, I genuinely found that the smoke-free environment made extended play noticeably more comfortable than at many other places. However, I do accept that it is a subjective kind of thing. For smokers, smoke-free casinos might well reduce the amount of time they can comfortably stay engaged with a machine.
Racetrack
Even as someone generally not too interested in horse racing, there is no doubt that the racetrack is the attraction at Oaklawn. You really have to just lean into it and embrace it if you visit, which is what I did and I didn’t regret it.
The live racing season runs from approximately early December through early May, primarily on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Gates open at 11am on most race days, with first post typically at 12:45pm. General admission is free.
The season distributes over $56 million in purses annually across more than 600 races, with a daily average purse fund exceeding $900,000.
The headline stakes races are genuinely significant events in the national racing calendar. The Arkansas Derby (Grade 1, $1.5 million) and Rebel Stakes (Grade 2, $1.25 million) are Kentucky Derby prep races that regularly attract the horses who will go on to compete at Churchill Downs.
The Apple Blossom Handicap (Grade 1, $1.25 million) and Oaklawn Handicap (Grade 2) are the marquee events for older horses. Dawn at Oaklawn, a free behind-the-scenes morning event held on Saturdays from Presidents' Day weekend, brings visitors trackside to watch morning training with barn tours and Q&A sessions hosted by racing insiders.
During the off-season, simulcast wagering runs year-round from the track's facilities.
Rewards Club
The Oaklawn Rewards Card is free to join and earns points on all tracked slot and table game play. Points convert toward freeplay, hotel room discounts, and dining credits across the property. Points can also unlock race day perks and event access during the season.
Oaklawn Rewards is, in truth, much the same as any other regional casino rewards club. Join if you’re a regular, but you won’t be missing out if you’re just passing through. As I understand it, members receive ongoing promotional offers throughout the year, which is always nice to hear.
Hotel Review
The eight-story hotel opened in 2021 as the centerpiece of the expansion and is a Forbes Travel Guide-recommended property. With 198 rooms including two presidential suites, it is a boutique-scale operation rather than a large resort tower, which suits the character of Hot Springs well.
The hotel's adjacency to the racetrack means roughly half its rooms overlook the track and the surrounding Ouachita Mountains, giving guests a literal bird's-eye view of morning training sessions and afternoon races during the season. This trackside vantage point is, as the property accurately notes, something no other hotel in the country can offer in quite the same way.
Rooms
I won’t over-egg any pudding here: the rooms are fine. Have I stayed in nicer ones at casino hotels? Absolutely. Would I expect better? Probably, yes. They are fine, though. They serve their purpose.
For full disclosure, I didn’t get one of the rooms that overlook the racetrack. Perhaps I would feel differently if I did, but I would recommend managing expectations a little, especially if you are used to the bigger, fancier, mega casino resort rooms elsewhere in the country.
Where to Eat
Oaklawn's dining programme is the strongest of Arkansas's three casinos, anchored by two restaurants that both hold Forbes Travel Guide recommendations and Wine Spectator awards simultaneously.
| Restaurant | Type | General Price |
|---|---|---|
| The Bugler | Upscale, Forbes recommended, Wine Spectator award, OpenTable Diners Choice 2025, charcuterie, signature steaks, racetrack views | $$$ |
| OAK Room and Bar | French-inspired Southern cuisine, Forbes recommended, Wine Spectator award, OpenTable Diners Choice 2025, bananas foster bread pudding | $$ |
| Mainline Sports Bar | 90-plus large-screen TVs, axe throwing, shuffleboard, three Topgolf Swing Suites, food and drinks | $ |
| Silks Bar and Grill | Casual casino floor dining, burgers, bar food | $ |
| Big Al's Diner and Deli | Breakfast staples, diner classics, all-day | $ |
| The First Turn | Upscale lounge, heated outdoor balcony with racetrack views, Oaklawn-signature Woodford Reserve cocktails | $ |
| Track Kitchen | Race day breakfast institution, famous massive pancakes, betting machines on site | $ |
| Post Parade | Oaklawn's legendary corned beef sandwiches, race day snacks | $ |
The Bugler and OAK Room and Bar are probably the highlights here. Both hold Forbes Travel Guide recommendations and Wine Spectator awards alongside OpenTable Diners Choice recognition for 2025.
The Bugler handles the upscale steakhouse role with charcuterie, signature cuts, and track views. The OAK Room and Bar takes a more creative direction with French-inspired Southern dishes and desserts like bananas foster bread pudding.
Just so you know, the Track Kitchen and the Post Parade corned beef sandwiches are as much a part of the Oaklawn experience as the races themselves. The corned beef sandwich has been an Oaklawn institution for decades and sells for fifty cents on Corned Beef Sandwich Day, which is an actual thing in Arkansas believe it or not.
Pool and Spa
The Astral Spa is Arkansas's only Forbes Four-Star rated spa and the first new full-service spa to be built in Hot Springs in more than a century. The spa's design pays deliberate homage to that heritage: a needle shower referencing the high-pressure thermal treatments of historic Bathhouse Row, an infrared sauna, a Himalayan salt wall found nowhere else in Arkansas, vitality pools, heated pool loungers, and full-service locker rooms and lounges.
Treatment offerings include massages, facials, body treatments, manicures, pedicures, and couples experiences.
There is also an outdoor saltwater pool with cabanas but it is only available seasonally to hotel and spa guests.
Entertainment
The Oaklawn Event Center is Hot Springs's premier entertainment venue at 15,000 to 18,000 square feet with capacity for up to 1,500. The calendar draws regional and national touring acts in music and comedy, positioning Oaklawn as the dominant live entertainment destination for the Hot Springs and surrounding area.
The Mainline Sports Bar adds a year-round entertainment dimension with its 90-plus large-screen TVs, axe throwing lanes, shuffleboard tables, and three Topgolf Swing Suites that offer simulated golf, baseball, hockey, and soccer. It is an unusual amenity for a casino of this size but a nice addition.
Verdict
Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort is the most character-rich of Arkansas's three casinos. The combination of a genuinely historic and nationally respected racetrack, a Forbes Four-Star spa, two Wine Spectator-awarded restaurants, a smoke-free casino floor, and a hotel with trackside views that no other property in American horse racing can match gives Oaklawn a layered identity that pure casino resorts cannot replicate.
The racing season from December through May is the peak experience and the time to visit if the sport appeals at all. But the smoke-free casino, the spa, the dining, and the Hot Springs location make it a compelling destination year-round.
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Meet The Author
Experience
Ziv Chen has been working in the online gambling industry for over two decades in senior marketing and business development roles. Ziv writes about a wide range of topics including slot and table games, casino and sportsbook reviews, American sports news, betting odds and game predictions. Leading a life full of conflict, Ziv constantly struggles between his two greatest loves: American football and US soccer.
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