2026 Update: The 2026 Elloree Trials have been canceled due to unforeseen personal reasons with the family that owns the Elloree Training Center. The organizers are hoping that the event will return for 2027. This is only the third time since the inaugural race in 1963 that the Elloree Trials have not been held.
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The Elloree Trials are a horse racing event held in the small, South Carolina town of Elloree. It’s a full day of family entertainment that you don’t want to miss.
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Growing up, we lived pretty close to a horse track. We’d drive down a few times a year, meet friends, and watch the horses. When I moved to Pennsylvania, I lived in the same county has a harness racing track, so I would go sometimes when I had nothing else to do and watch them race. And when Pete and I started dating, he lived in a town with a harness racing track, so we’d go there too.
It’s so much fun.
Watching the horses, rooting them on, seeing some horses come from behind and win … it’s all very exciting.
So, I can’t wait for next weekend when the Elloree Trials are taking place in Elloree, SC. We’ll be there, as guests of the county. If you’ve never been to a horse race before, this is a great one to start with. Because it’s more than a horse trial. It’s a community day with vendors, food trucks, a hat contest, and more.
Elloree Trials Horse Races: Everything you need to know
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History of the Elloree Trials
The Elloree Trials started back in 1963. Because of a few year hiatus, 2025 marks the 60th anniversary of the trials.
But, racing in Elloree actually goes back longer than that. The track, then known as The Old Palmetto Race Track, was built in the 1940s. Races happened for about a decade before some complications with betting made the track … well, I guess a little bit boring. Yes, betting on horses is part of why people get so amped up about the races.
So, in the early 1950s, the track closed.
Fast forward to 1963. A community group and former track owners came together to run the inaugural Elloree Trials.
The Trials ran smoothly until the world shut down in 2020 and it had to miss two seasons because of it. The Trials were back on for 2022 and it seemed like smooth sailing, uh, galloping.
But then, tragedy struck.
Margaret Anne Baker Garrett, a horse trainer and local business owner, who did much of the event planning for the Elloree Trials passed away at 67, not too long after her fellow Trials planner Debbie Jobe retired. That left the Smith family — racehorse trainers and owner of the Elloree Training Center — in a bind. And they thought about hanging up the reins for good.
So the next year (we’re at 2023 now), the Elloree Trials missed its third season ever.
A few local residents stepped up and formed the Elloree Palmetto Jockey Club to keep the tradition alive. The Trials were back in 2024 thanks to the nonprofit organization’s efforts and are back again this year.
Elloree Trials Horse Races
The Elloree Trials are a Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing event held annually each year. It’s always sandwiched between the Aiken Trials (held at the Aiken Training Track in Aiken, SC) and the Carolina Cup (held at the Springdale Race Course Camden, SC).
This year, The Elloree Trials are happening on Saturday, March 22, 2025.
There will be eight total races: six for Thoroughbreds and two for Quarter Horses (with a maximum of six horses per race) starting at 1 pm.
These races aren’t qualifying races for any of the big name horse events, like The Preakness in Maryland or The Belmont Stakes in New York, but many horses that have trained in Elloree have actually been in those events and in the Kentucky Derby in previous years.
The final race is the Elloree Cup, which comes with the biggest purse.
Elloree Trials Events
But wait, there’s more.
There’s a large picnic area where you can set up a blanket and cooler and hang out with your family and friends. If you’d rather do some tailgating, you absolutely can.
Most people bring large coolers and tons of drinks, then eat and drink all day long. People start setting up at 8:30 am and the event ends around 5 pm, so I really do mean all day.
A golf cart will be driving around, checking out the tailgates. Some lucky crew will even win the tailgate contest.
If you don’t win the tailgate contest, you can try your hand at the hat contest.
There are three groups for that: ages 2 to 6, 7 to 13, and 14 and older.
Personally I’ve been brainstorming about a Kentucky Derby-esque hat I could make to wear to the Elloree Trials, but I’m just going with a pair of horse racing earrings instead. But I’ll be excited to see who the winners are.
Elloree Trials Schedule
The full schedule, including race information, will be printed in a race book that’s available for $5. After each race, one race book number will be called and the holder will win $100.
Friday, March 21
5 pm to 7 pm: Oyster Roast at the Elloree Heritage Museum – Tickets are $45 and include oysters, hot dogs, chili, dessert, and drinks.
Saturday, March 22
8 am: Gates open
11 am: Festivities begin – This includes vendor tents being set up around the track. Food, drinks, and wares will be available for purchase.
11:45 am: Parachute Jump – The Special Forces Association will be doing a parachute jump at this time.
12 pm: Crowing of Miss Elloree Trials – Local young ladies, who are usually juniors and seniors in high school, are sponsored by a nonprofit group. The The Miss Elloree Trials Pageant contestants are interviewed prior to race day and the winner will be crowned at the Trials.
12:30: Welcome – Elloree mayor Mike Fanning will welcome the crowd.
12:35 pm: Invocation Reverend Mitch Evans of Trinity Lutheran Church, Elloree will preside.
12:40 pm: National Anthem – To be led by Hugh Weathers, Commissioner of the S.C Department of Agriculture.
1 pm: First race
1 pm: Best Tailgate Contest – Judges will be riding around on a golf cart to choose a first and second place winner.
1:15 pm: Hat contest – Judges will choose winners in three age brackets.
2:30 pm: Parachute Jump – The Special Forces Association will be doing a parachute jump at this time.
Midpoint of races: God Bless the USA – Joe Gonzalez will perform (the time is not set; it depends on how long each race takes.)
6 pm to 9 pm: Elloree Trials After Party – The after party will be held at The Oasis Bar & Grill in Santee. Ceasar & The Creole Soul Band will be playing outside. There is a $10 cover charge.
Elloree Trials: Frequently Asked Questions
Individual admission tickets are $25 per person. Children ages 12 and under are free.
There is free general admission parking. There will be a shuttle running from the general admission parking lot to the two pedestrian entrances. The shuttles will run from 11 am until the “Call to Post” for the final race (the Elloree Cup).
There are also an option for a reserved spot for $25. Call 803-395-9068 to reserve your spot.
There’s not. There’s a large hill that you can sit on, so bring your own chairs and blankets. Just be aware that if you don’t purchase a reserved parking spot, there’s limited seating on the hill.
You can bring a cooler into the Elloree Trials. As long as you’re 21+, your cooler is permitted to have alcohol. Alcohol is not available for purchase at the Elloree Trials. Food will be for sale on site.
Most people tailgate all day and bring folding tables and coolers filled with foods and beverages, including alcohol.
Famous Horse Racing Ties To Santee Cooper Country
Elloree, SC is in Santee Cooper Country. The town was home to jockey Chris Antley. He was born in Florida but grew up in Elloree.
Chris Antley is most famous for winning the Kentucky Derby in 1999 and almost winning the Triple Crown. He won the Derby and The Preakness with a horse named Charismatic and came in third at the Belmont Stakes.
There’s a room at the Elloree Heritage Museum dedicated to Antley.
Another tie is in Santee, SC, also in Santee Cooper Country. Secretariat’s trainer, Lucien Laurin, once lived in Santee (at 100 Cooper Dr., which is a private residence).
Lucien Laurin owned Branchdale Racetrack (now known as Holly Hill Training Center) and hired two area locals — George “Charlie” Davis, Jr. of Eutawville and Eddie “Shorty” Sweat of Holly Hill — to be Secretariat’s exercise rider and groom, respectively.
Have you been to the Elloree Trials? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.