More people search for MGM Northfield Park than for Northfield Park, and the MGM sign came down years ago. That is the single most useful thing to know before driving out there: it is the same building, the same floor and the same half-mile track, under different ownership and a shorter name. MGM sold the gaming business, the entertainment operations and the racetrack interests to Clairvest in a transaction valued at around $546 million, with the real estate leased from VICI Properties, and the branding changed with the owner. Nothing on the gaming floor changed at all.
What you are actually walking into
| Gaming area | About 200,000 square feet |
| Machines | More than 2,000 video lottery terminals |
| Table games | None |
| Poker | None |
| Racing | Harness, half-mile oval, 200-plus race dates a year |
| Hours | Floor open 24 hours |
| Parking | Free |
| Minimum age | 21 |
| Google rating | 4.1 from more than 13,000 reviews |
The rating is the highest of the three gaming floors in the Cleveland area, and the review volume is the largest, which tells you the place is busy rather than that it is better.
Why there are no tables, and why that surprises people
This is the disappointment we hear about most from Cleveland-area players, and it is worth being blunt about. Ohio has licensed racinos since 2012, when the state let racetracks add video lottery floors, and the licence they were given is not the one the casinos hold. Ohio licenses two kinds of property. The four commercial casinos, in Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo and Cincinnati, may run slot machines, live tables and poker. The seven racinos may run video lottery terminals only. A terminal looks like a slot, sounds like a slot and pays like a slot, but it answers to the Ohio Lottery Commission rather than the Casino Control Commission, and no racino in the state has a blackjack table, a craps pit or a card room.
Northfield Park has more machines than several full casinos and still no pit. If cards are the point of the evening, the nearest option is JACK Cleveland Casino downtown, whose 26-table poker room runs around the clock. Our Cleveland comparison sets the three floors against each other.
The track is the real differentiator
Northfield races harness more than 200 dates a year, one of the busiest schedules anywhere in North America, on a half-mile oval that sits right outside the gaming floor. Most racinos run a seasonal meet of a few months. This one runs most weeks of the year, which means that on a random Tuesday evening there is live racing here and almost certainly nowhere else in Ohio. The paddock and the grandstand are a short walk from the machines, and the two are genuinely integrated rather than the track being an obligation the licence imposes.
If you want the contrast, Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs near Columbus, which became the state's first racino on 1 June 2012, races only from May to September, and Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley races thoroughbreds from October to April. Between the three of them there is a live card somewhere in the state every month, and Northfield covers most of them by itself. Our racino comparison has the full calendar.
Getting there and what it costs to park
The property sits between Cleveland and Akron and pulls from both, roughly half an hour from either downtown. Parking is free, which is not true of JACK Cleveland on Public Square, where you pay to leave a car in the district. For a machines evening that difference is real money before you have played anything.
Who this floor suits
Machine players, racing regulars and anyone who wants a 24-hour floor without a downtown parking bill. The floor is large enough that finding a particular game is a walk, so pick a section and stay in it. It does not suit anyone who wants a table, a poker seat or a hotel room on site, and the food is a lounge-and-bar operation rather than a dining destination, which is where Miami Valley Gaming near Lebanon is stronger: it runs six dining rooms and has announced a $100 million expansion with a hotel and a larger floor.
We checked the floor size, hours, parking and racing calendar in September 2026. For a machines-and-racing evening in north-east Ohio we rate Northfield Park the best choice on volume, rating and cost of parking, and we would send a card player downtown instead.
Playing from home instead
Ohio does not license real-money online casinos. Sweepstakes casinos run on a no-purchase-necessary promotional model, and our Ohio rankings cover the platforms that accept the state, with payout times on redemption speed.
Frequently asked questions
Is Northfield Park still MGM?
No. MGM sold the property to Clairvest and the name changed. The floor, the racing, the hours and the parking are unchanged.
Does Northfield Park have table games?
No. As an Ohio racino its licence permits video lottery terminals only. The nearest tables are at JACK Cleveland Casino.
How many race dates does Northfield Park run?
More than 200 a year, harness racing on a half-mile oval, one of the busiest schedules in North America.
Is parking free at Northfield Park?
Yes, free, which is a meaningful difference from the paid downtown parking at JACK Cleveland.
What is the minimum age at Northfield Park?
21, the same at every casino and racino in the state.
