Scioto Downs opens its 53rd season of racing on Friday night and will continue racing until September 11. This year the track is offering harness racing on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons
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“The Sunday racing should be popular with people who want to come out and see the races and enjoy a Sunday afternoon out,” said track general manager Stacy Cahill. “By racing on Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon, it won’t affect anyone having to go to work early the next morning.”
The popularity of Sunday racing with horsemen was demonstrated when they flooded the entry box for the opening Sunday, resulting in 13 races.
The exceptions to the weekend schedule are three holiday programs: Memorial Day, July 4, and Labor Day. On those days, the races will start at 1 p.m. as they will on Sunday. On Saturday, May 21, Scioto will have a special post time of 5:30 p.m. for its live racing program.
“We’re having the post time an hour earlier than usual because we’re simulcasting the Preakness Stakes, second leg of the Triple Crown,” says Cahill. “Scioto will be the only place in central Ohio where you can watch and wager on the Preakness.”
The track will host the best horses in the Buckeye State often throughout the season, including early August when it hosts the Ohio State Fair stakes. Those events were formerly held at the state fairgrounds but were moved to Scioto when the fairgrounds racetrack was removed in the 1980s. The track will also host many legs of Ohio Sires Stakes competition.
The meet culminates on Sept. 10 when Scioto hosts Ohio Super Week, which features eight championship finals in Ohio Sires Stakes competition. Purses for the evening will far exceed $500,000.
(Scioto Downs)