Gem County Fairgrounds

Gem County Fairgrounds

The Gem County Fairgrounds, located at the corner of Highway 16 and S. Johns Ave., was built in 1950.  In 1964, the Emmett race track was the first race track in the state of Idaho to run under the newly passed pari-mutuel law. 

The facility has two buildings, the Expo and 4-H buildings, which are available for rent to the public throughout the year.

The Expo building is the larger of the two. It has wide door access and “booths” set-up along two walls. 

The 4-H building, also available for rent, has a kitchen, stage, bathrooms and “back room”. The 4-H building is kept especially busy with booking for private parties and shows. The Emmett Community Playhouse has also done several plays on the stage in the 4-H building.

Horse stalls for rent either by the day or by the month. The racetrack is kept open year round as a training track. There is also a sand arena at the front of the fairgrounds on Highway 16 that is available to the public at no charge. It is open from dawn till dusk seven days a week.  The large, groomed arena is also available for rent from May through October. It has been used for numerous and varied horse events and rodeos, including an annual motorcycle rodeo. 

There are animal barns and a covered show pavilion that are also occasionally rented for things such as animal clinics.

The annual fair and rodeo and the spring horse races have been the two main events sponsored by the Fair Board. 

Anyone interested in pricing and availability of any part of the facility can call the Fair Board office at (208) 365-6828 Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm year round.