In the game
There is a shot in the first trailer of pink flamingos standing in shallow water on a lawn, palms behind them and a long, pale, arcaded building beyond. It is the kind of image Rockstar uses to say “Florida” in one frame, and fans reached for a specific place at once.
That place is Hialeah Park, a racetrack west of the city with a famous colony of flamingos living on its infield lake. The match rests on the flamingos plus the building: Hialeah’s grandstand is a long Mediterranean Revival arcade in cream and terracotta, and the trailer’s building has similar proportions. We call it likely rather than strong because flamingos and an old building could be a composite, and the trailer never shows a track. Whether Vice City has horse racing is not something Rockstar has said.
The real place
Hialeah Park opened in 1925 and was rebuilt in its present form in the early 1930s by Joseph Widener, who wanted the most beautiful racetrack in America and got close. He planted the avenue of Australian pines, built the arcaded grandstand and the clubhouse, and imported flamingos from Cuba to live in the infield. They stayed, bred, and became the track’s emblem. When Miami Vice needed an opening image in 1984, it filmed the flamingos taking flight here.
Thoroughbred racing ended in 2001 and the park nearly died. It reopened in 2009 with quarter horse racing, added a casino in 2013, and has been on and off the racing calendar since; check what, if anything, is running when you go. The grounds are on the National Register and open to the public. The detail a GTA fan will recognize is the lake: pink birds, green water, palms, that cream arcade behind.
Go there
Hialeah is a working-class, overwhelmingly Cuban city on Miami’s north-west side, 20-30 minutes from downtown by car or a straightforward Metrorail ride; Hialeah station is beside the park’s east side. Entrance to the grounds and casino is free, and parking is free or a few dollars.
Walk in, find the infield lake beside the grandstand, and give yourself an hour. Mornings are calmer and cooler. The grandstand’s arcades and the old paddock are worth a slow walk whether or not anything is racing, and the casino is there if that is your thing.
This is one of the best places in Miami to eat Cuban without a tourist in sight. The cafeterias and walk-up coffee windows (ventanitas) along West 49th Street and around the park serve croquetas, pan con bistec and cafecito for a few dollars. Order at the window, stand at the counter.
The honest warning: the park’s schedule is unreliable. Racing has stopped and restarted more than once, hours vary, and parts of the grounds close for events. Check the current calendar before you go, and come for the birds and the building rather than the sport.
Nearby
- Vice City’s Cuban quarter: Hialeah and Little Havana are the two halves of Cuban Miami; do both in a day.
- The downtown skyline: the Metrorail from Hialeah runs straight into downtown.
- The pale tower downtown: the Freedom Tower is where many of Hialeah’s families first registered in Miami.
Updated September 12, 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us.