The story begins with Charlie Chan giving a lesson is blood stain pattern to the Honolulu police, but that is interrupted by news of a horse race which excites everybody, and the policemen all place their bets. Unfortunately the favored horse loses. But that horse, along with their fellow racehorses, are taken aboard a ship from Australia to Honolulu, and en route the favored horse's owner is murdered, supposedly by being kicked by a horse. Chan is called in and quickly proves otherwise, but this is only the beginning.The ship goes to the U. S. mainland where the horses are to race, but there are some gambling racketeers behind the scenes-what do they plan to do, and can Chan foil them? Again the story keeps you guessing, and comic relief aplenty is provided by Number One Son and his antics. There is another stereotypical high-strung black person who plays a minor role in this movie. (The problem is less that such characters exist than the fact that black people never seem to be cast in any other roles in that era.)

The title is a partial misnomer: about half of the movie takes place on a ship. The actual horse-racing scenes are well-filmed, but the movie in general is forgettable. The biggest issue is the anonymous supporting cast: it's hard to tell any of the characters apart, and none of them inspire any interest, sympathy, or even antipathy. The exceptions are, of course, Warner Oland, who is solid as Charlie Chan and whose aphorisms are the best quality of the film, and his Number One Son, likably played by Keye Luke. Oland has the single best moment in the film when he says to the culprit, with deadpan seriousness, "You convict self. Thank you so much"! My other favorite Chan line is probably "Suspicion often father of truth". ** out of 4.

Charlie Chan gets involved in this case when a good friend is killed. He moves into the horse racing world. In so doing, he becomes the target of a crime syndicate that is involved in illegal betting. Avalanche, the horse that is the favorite, acts erratically. All sorts of shenanigans take place on board the steamship bring the horses to Los Angeles. There are a number of possible suspects and this offering makes it hard for the viewer to figure things out. The one thing that is hard to swallow is that the two favorites are disguised and switched. I would be that anyone close to a race horse could tell merely from its gait that it is a particular horse. This stretches things quite a bit. Unfortunately, we once again have a black man acting in the stereotypical Stepin Fetchitt mode. His name is Streamline and he has a monkey. While the monkey is important to the plot, this man is made to look subservient and foolish.

Charlie Chan at the Race Track is a very solid entry in the series. In this one, one of Chan's old friends is killed on a ship sailing from Australia to Honolulu. The doctor rules the death an accident resulting from a kick to the head by his prize race horse. Chan notices some things that don't quite add up and is able to convince his superiors that the death was not an accident, but murder. Chan is soon caught up in a world of race horses and gambling syndicates as he looks for a killer.I really can't complain about much of anything. The plot here is interesting with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the very end. It helps that son Lee Chan is on hand to shine the light of suspicion on all of the characters at every opportunity. Speaking of Lee, Keye Luke is one of the real stars of this episode. Luke was never funnier than in Charlie Chan at the Race Track. Warner Oland is as solid as ever. He probably as more physical moments than in any Chan film I can remember, getting shot at twice and throwing a punch of his own. The supporting cast is generally quite good. I've gotten to where I could watch Jonathan Hale in just about anything - he's always good. The less said about the character Streamline, the better. The sets and costumes (high hats included) look nice, the cinematography sparkles, and the direction is snappy. Overall, a very solid effort.