Oh the smell of the dirt and the horses and the fans and the horses! What are the top horse racing tracks and where the heck are they?

We watch horse racing on television but do those announcers EVER tell us where the race is? No, they usually say it once when you’re in the kitchen getting your chips and beer before the race begins.

If you miss that, you’re out of luck, but here, we are proud to tell you where they are and why they’re tops. We picked out four here and we will tell you why we like each one of them.

Churchill Downs/Kentucky
The home of the Kentucky Derby, this horse track is full of wealthy ladies with big hats with Mint Juleps in one hand and Burgoo Stew in the other. Opened in 1875, the vision of Col. M. Lewis Clark, who also won here as a jockey, Churchill Downs has grown over the years in popularity.

In 1902, Matt Winn who bought the failing track was actually incorporated in 1942. Years went by until 1980 when CEO and President, Thomas H. Meeker demanded expansion he got it. In 2005, the $121 million dollar renovations were complete including revamping the grandstands and clubhouse.

This racetrack is full of history, but mostly, we like the idea of the computerized advanced deposit wagering set up in 2007 easier for us to bet at home since we cant afford tickets to actually go there.

Belmont Park/New York
Who doesn’t like New York? Its the apple state, oops; we mean it has a city nicknamed The Big Apple. That alone is great for apple lovers, but we love this track too. This 430-acre track in Elmont, NY has two super seasons, one from April to July and the fall season in September and October. This too is home to one of our favorite races, The Belmont Stakes, part of The Triple Crown.

The track here is 1 and a half miles in length and even though they claim they can fit 90,000 people here, they only have 32,941 seats so most of us who attend will be standing. You should be exceptionally well dressed to get into Belmont Park, even if the parking is only four bucks.

They will let you bring in coolers for your beer, but only if you aren’t sitting with the wealthy people and for our betting or should we say losing convenience, this track has ATMs on the first, second, third, and fourth floorsnice!

Hollywood Park/California
Wow, who doesn’t like Hollywood! Thats exactly what we thought, but we really do enjoy this track. Opened in 1938, old Jack Warner of Warner Brothers Studios must have liked horses and betting on them he also enlisted a lot of Hollywood types to invest in Hollywood Park. It was used as a storage facility from 1942 to 1944 because of WWII, the big one, and a fire in 1949, put it out of business until its reopening in 1950.

In 1951, Citation became the first million dollar horse winner here and we bet he was proud! This track was the first to offer exacta wagering in 1971 something we are fond of. In 1973, another $3 million was offered up for renovation purposes. Where do you think all your bets go? The rack track itself is 1 1/8 miles and is awesome to see.

Off site betting in Del Mar, San Bernardino, and Ventura came along in 1987, and this used to be the home of the world famous Breeders Cup! In 1994 its further renovation of $20 million gave this park the class it needed and if you don’t want to bet on a horse race there is a casino too and we like that!

Santa Anita/California
Well, they say California is sun filled with surfer happy people who say way wow, and are everywhere thats just part of the reason we like it here. Another reason is that this track opens every year the day after Christmas so ask for cash this year!

While you cant bring a Frisbee, fly a kite or wear your rollerblades at this track, it will be the home of the 2009 Breeders Cup a first for this track. It covers 320 acres and a complete equine hospital (that s a horse hospital if you didnt know).

You dont have to dress up here if you get box seats, but if you shell out $7.50 you can sit in the clubhouse but you have dress up there and if your Grandma is 62 or older, she can get in free on Thursdays! We liked it here because there are friendly people who will explain to you how to bet or you can read one of their information full brochures on how to wager!

All of these places have great horse racing tracks and if you have only watched horse races on TV, dont fret, now that you know what its like to visit these tracks, maybe you can just make an offsite bet and stay at home with your beer and chips.

Simon M Skinner assists withruns internet marketing for BetAmerica - the top online US horse racing betting website.