The Yarra Glen Race Course has high local significance as a site used for over a century as a popular district race track.

The Yarra Glen Racetrack is located just east of the township of Yarra Glen, bounded by the Healesville-Yarra Glen Road in the south, Armstrong Grove in the west, and Steels Creek in the east. The racetrack is part of a racing complex consisting of two large grandstands, horse stalls, a bookmakers' pavilion, public bar facilities, administrative offices and gardens, including mature trees and expansive grassed areas.

The racecourse consists of a grass track (for thoroughbred racing and racehorse training), a sand track (for thoroughbred training), and a 805-metre harness racing track. The buildings are located on the eastern side of the track. Moving roughly south to north, these include:a cream brick horse stalls with iron roofing (including a brick farrier's workshop) and a large workshop and machinery storage area; a 2-storey cream brick administrative building, housing the Yarra Glen Racing Club and the Yarra Glen Harness Racing Club, jockey/harness race drivers room, stewards room and other facilities; two mature cypress trees at the rear of the administrative building; two large totalisator houses; a recently constructed concrete grandstand with seating for 500 people, with enclosed dining room, kitchen and bar (constructed in 1995 at a cost of $2.3 million) and a smaller, older, concrete grandstand, dating from the 1960s. Behind this stand are some oak trees and an old conifer. Both grandstands command spectacular views of the ranges to the east and south. Further development of the grandstand is planned to provide sponsors rooms and corporate entertainment areas.

Behind the grandstands is a large betting ring and a public bar. These are basic open-sided structures with concrete floor, portable stands for bookmakers, and facilities for serving alcohol. Between the buildings and the border of the complex towards Yarra Glen are large areas of grass with a few older trees and many newer plantings.

The racecourse also features a cream brick veneer Racecourse Ranger's house, located in the northern carpark in Armstrong Grove.

An avenue of exotic trees lines the track at its northern boundary. These plantings were thought to relate to the entry drive to a homestead that once occupied the site, but do not appear to be old enough.

The racetrack is used for 10 gallop and 17 harness race meetings per year, the Yarra Valley Great Victorian Steeplechase Carnival (to be held for the first time in 2000), the annual two-day Yarra Valley Expo, and is also the site of a monthly craft market which draws a substantial attendance from throughout the Yarra Ranges region.

Physical Conditions: Good

Integrity: Altered