Had my daughter's Bridal Shower at Retama Park on July 22, 2017, and it was the most amazing experience for ALL of us. The theme was Kentucky Derby Theme and we ALL had a WONDERFUL and we surprised the Bride to Be, MY Daughter, and SHE LOVED IT TOO! Martha C. Hernandez, Sales Account Executive, made the experience so easy and was always there to answer all our questions. read more

I heard about a "sports bar" at Retama Park - I just thought Retama park was only open during racing but its open year around for betting on other tracks-Who knew. Anyways the sports bar - medium sized bar on the third floor, decent beer specials, a bunch of TVs, placed some bets on horse races while watching a ball game and ate some .39 cent wing special! The bartender told me that they will be having some March madness specials-so I'll be back. It was a nice crowd and had a good time. read more

Looking for something to do on a Saturday night? Head out to the race tracks! Saturday there is free general admission, $5 parking, 50 cent programs, and super cheap hotdogs and beer (I can't remember how much exactly). There are 10 races spaced about 20 minutes apart, and if you're into gambling but not feeling super risky, this is the place for you! My husband and I each bet $5 per race and ended up about $50 up at the end of the night. Not bad! Retama Park isn't swanky by any means, but is actually a lot cleaner than some of the tracks I've been to in California. I would love to go back! read more

While I did enjoy the "mbetting" to avoid the long betting lines, that was about all we enjoyed. The food is lacking. The air conditioning is always freezing! They could save a ton of money on air conditioning. I am normally warm and appreciate a/c, but this is ridiculous, even I was cold and my wife was freezing. They have to make a ton of money raking in their share of wagers. They need to invest it in better HD TVs. They seem to have plenty of TVs, but the clarity is lacking. Also, they need to fix their betting machines for those that don't use "mbetting". Many of them have touch screens that are out of alignment making placing wagers difficult. Then you have one machine that won't take $100 bills and another that won't take your vouchers. We have gone to multiple races and the same machines have the same problems. That is why I went to "mbetting". One suggestion to improve "mbetting" is that when you go to "view your wagers", it would be more beneficial to see the wagers either by race or all in a list sorted by race. The current method of seeing the wagers in order of the time they were made is not helpful to those that bet future races early, such as on KD or Preakness. With those major races, I have my bets before I get to the park and like to place them early so I can check them and relax knowing they are in. Oh, one other useful change to the "mbetting" would be to get a printout of your wagering for that day showing your winnings/losings. Since Uncle Sam makes us fill out a form to withhold taxes if you win a lot and it is reported as income, it would be helpful to have receipts of your losses to deduct against your wins. May have to go to Vegas next time if they just want to keep their profits and not invest into bettering the facility. read more

Best Horse Racetrack in the area, be careful on your gambling, that can always get dangerous...Saturday's are .50 beer night, so hopefully you have a ride home ;P read more

Ok here goes....went to Retama this past Saturday night for the Camel and Ostrich races and for a birthday party for a friend. When my friend made the reservations for our group they informed her that this is a very popular night and to get there early as to have good parking, etc which we did. That is where the good part ends. We sat in the sports bar area on the third floor because racing had not started. They were understaffed and it took forever to get drinks and food. The food wasnt horrible, just slow to arrive. The drinks werent terribly expensive, just took forever to get them. As our party began to arrive we moved to our seats to (try) and start betting on some races. They only had four actual attendants taking bets on the biggest night of the year. By mid way through the racing we all had to stand in line so long to cash in tickets that we would have to make our picks for the next race while we stood there. Some of our party tried the automated machines but only a couple of those were working and gave up. And, it was now so crowded that it was taking us anywhere from 30-45 minutes standing in line just to get another drink. The bar along the far wall only had two EXTREMELY surly bartenders that proceeded to card a woman my age (49) after she had been standing in line 40 minutes and made her get out of line to go get her ID. By the end of the 6th race there were hardly any liquor bottles left on the shelves behind the bar. They ran out of beer and wine and most mixers. Everyone in our party tried all the bars, on all the levels and it was the same story. They knew this was a huge night, they warned us about that when we made the reservations and yet still did not have 1 tenth of the number of staff that they needed. They lost so much money just on our party not being able to eat and drink and gamble....stupid. And I wont even discuss the bathrooms. Oh, and just to warn anyone that is interested in seeing the Camels race...they had four that ran maybe 50 yards. Thats it. Whoop de dooo read more

We were there this past weekend for the camel and ostrich races. I was disappointed in the lack of personnel in all areas of the track. The lines to get in were long, because there were only two people working the gate. Once we were in, there were only 2 bartenders at the bar, and the lines were very long, it took 15 minutes to get a drink. The betting area was under staffed as well, it took several minutes to place a bet and redeem tickets. The bathrooms were not attended either, because there was no soap, the waste bins were overflowing, and it looked as though a bomb had gone off in there by the second to last race. Also, for some reason, the tote board was missing. That made it difficult to see the odds, how much you had won, and the betting pool total. So we looked for the TV's, but many were turned off. read more

We recently held a client holiday event at Retama Park and everyone had a wonderful time. The food and drinks were great and the staff was very helpful. Maricela was always available to answer any questions I had and was of huge help throughout the entire process. A couple of signs leading to the private room would have been helpful to our clients but other than that we can't wait to be back! read more

One word can summarize my experience at Retama Park last night.....HORRIBLE!!!! The place was packed and there was a serious under staffing problem along with a nonexistent management presents. The lines for food and drinks was way out of hand. I had to wait for over an hour for a beer, totally unacceptable. Upper management needs to look into the screwup last night and make some changes! For me.......I'm heading over to the Houston track from now on. read more

Went to watch the Kentucky Derby. This facility was severely understaffed. There were not enough bartenders, concessions or betting cashiers. I'm wife and I were looking to settle in to eat drink and bet some horses on Derby day. There was nowhere to sit and no tables. You might think for the derby they could rent some for the extra people. It took nearly 20 minutes of waiting in line to get a beer. The concessions were not any shorter of a wait. Fill a tub with beer and set up a beer bar to alleviate congestion at the bar. Twice tried to bet races before the derby only to get shut out. Waited in long line to get derby bets in spending no time enjoying the company of my wife. In and out got me for a quick 60.00 but was willing to spend way more. Managment think about what you left on the table. Future losses as well, we won't be back. San Antonio needs off track betting. Lastly the bathrooms aren't fit for cattle, disgusting years of urine all over the walls and literally eating the partitions. SMH. read more

Great night out at Retama Park. The upstairs has an air conditioned areas with a great view of the track, plus a few bars and restaurant as well. I've been there three times, each night walked away with over $80 in winnings! read more

We had family from Canada visiting for thanksgiving and took them to the races on Nov. 22. We purchased 2 sets of box seats. We got 2 races in and the rest were cancelled due to the storm that came through. We were told if we came back the following weekend we'd get those seats again as well as we would not have to pay for admittance or programs if we brought our programs back. We brought them back as well as the box seats stubs. Well, we had to pay to all get in again as well as all pay for programs. We did get the box seats but still put out $20.00 for admission as well as 8.00 for programs.....not impressed! It has gone downhill since it changed owners. Now that the top level is open to all the riff raff tends to come up. That small fee to up to the top level and the way it was prior to with $5.00 per car and free admission was a far better way of doing it. All out family from out of country always looked forward to a night at the races but we certainly won't be bringing them back if that's how they do business. read more

what a horrible place. we were basically harassed by the regulars for being to loud at a live racing event so much so that they had 2 security officers harass us so much we ended up leaving. i took 15 people to retama for a friends b-day all the way from austin texas we rented a van and were packed to the gill 13 guys 2 girls. my friend is from kentucky and he loves the horses so we thought for his bday this would be a great place. but hell no we moved 4 times voluntarily tried not to disturb the regulars, by the time the live races started at 3pm we were on the 3rd floor against the wall, trying not to bother anyone. we were first told we were being to loud by a female security guard after an old lady regular told her to tell us to be quite. then the same lady after the 1st race (old lady) came and sat by us to in her words to make sure we weren't cussing. (there we're no kids around and the cursing even if we were) then she got another security guard this time a man to come over and ask us not to curse and the old fogies all got together to make sure he asked us to leave. this place will go bankrupt soon because the regulars won't allow anyone else to come there and have fun. read more

I have gone to Retama Park many times over the past 8-10 years. In the past 2 years they have really gone downhill. Tonight we went, and only stayed one hour, then went home, and we will never go back again,. It is clear they are in increasing financial trouble. The club boxes last year on the 3rd floor were $20 for a box of 4, this year they are $40, which I refuse to pay. They no longer have waitress service to the club boxes ( at double the price, mind you), they have a buffet which served hot dogs and fixings, we were told. The races were delayed, and the first race had not begun when we left @ 7:45( an hour after what is supposed to be the post time of the first race.) So, in summary, we will charge you more money, yet we will offer you less. Management clearly doesn't know what they are doing. we used to go several times a year to live racing, but it's not worth the trip anymore. I doubt they will survive for much longer. read more