Founded in 1915, Oriental Park was the only race track in Cuba before Fidel Castro came to power in 1959.

In its heyday, American owners brought their horses to race at Oriental Park Racetrack during the winter, and future Hall of Fame jockey Laverne Fator rode there in 1918, as did Alfred Robertson in the mid-1920s and Cuban-born Avelino Gomez.

With American racetracks closed, jockey Joe Culmone, contract rider for Brookmeade Stable, won three races at Oriental Park on December 31, 1950, tying Bill Shoemaker for most wins that year by an American jockey.

Oriental Park is also famous for hosting the April 5, 1915 boxing match between Jack Johnson and Jess Willard.

[1] Many American celebrities on vacation or who were performing at the nearby Tropicana Club visited fashionable Oriental Park Racetrack, as did Europeans such as tennis star Suzanne Lenglen.