Centrally located in the middle of the Seattle-Tacoma corridor, with unobstructed views of Mount Rainier, Emerald Downs has established itself as the premier thoroughbred racing venue in the Pacific Northwest. It is the annual host of the Grade III Longacres Mile, a race that dates back to 1935, and is the richest stakes event west of Chicago and north of the Bay Area.

Other major events hosted at Emerald Downs include a sextet of $100,000 stake races: the Mt. Rainier Breeders' Cup, the Washington Breeders' Cup Oaks, the Emerald Breeders' Cup Distaff, the Barbara Shinpoch Stakes, the Emerald Breeders' Cup Derby, and the Gottstein Futurity.

The main track at Emerald Downs is one-mile in circumference, with a 1 ¼-mile chute. The width of the track is 80 feet on the backstretch and 90 feet in the homestretch. The running surface is composed of a three-foot thick cross section that consists of a geo-textile fabric over the natural subgrade; eight inches of washed rock; 14 inches of coarse sand; and 14 inches of one-component track material.

On May 22nd, 2005, Sabertooth set the world record for 6 ½ furlongs when covering the trip in 1:13 at Emerald Downs.