SM City San Lazaro occupies four hectares of the former San Lazaro Hippodrome estate in Santa Cruz, Manila. The Manila Jockey Club, founded in 1867, moved its racing operations to San Lazaro around 1900 and completed the racetrack and grandstand there by 1912. Racing left for Carmona, Cavite in the first quarter of 2003, and SM Prime opened the mall on 15 July 2005 as its 20th supermall and the second in the city after SM City Manila.
Four retail levels sit above six parking levels with 1,095 slots, on a plan by Jose Siao Ling and Associates, built by New Golden City Builders. SM Prime reports gross floor area of about 168,000 square meters as of December 31, 2025.
The wider sixteen-hectare former Jockey Club estate became a mixed-use district: the Vertex One office tower, the Winford Hotel and Casino held through the club’s investment arm, Celadon Park by Alveo and Avida Towers San Lazaro. Manila Jockey Club and Megaworld added a further 1.67-hectare commercial and residential project in 2017. On the mall parcel itself, The Medical City has run a clinic across the upper ground and second levels since 18 February 2017.
The tenant list runs to 227 active brands, 78 of them in food: Jollibee, Starbucks, Chowking, Mang Inasal and Max’s Restaurant alongside Tim Hortons, Popeyes and Pancake House. Fashion carries 36, including Uniqlo, Charles & Keith, Terranova, Giordano and OshKosh B’Gosh, technology 32 and beauty 24, from Watsons and The Face Shop to Kiko Milano and The Body Shop. Chinabank, LBC Express and PhilPost sit in a service band of fifteen.
