A full week into the 2023 Eldorado Scioto Downs racing season and the track is seeing continual gains and improvements, both in the box and in handle.

“There have been 200 plus horses in the box each draw,” said Jason Roth, Scioto’s Director of Racing. “Through our Saturday [May 20] card, we’ve had 16 races each night since we opened.

“The track is getting tight and we’re working out the kinks of opening back up after being closed for eight months. We appreciate our horsemen’s support and are looking to make this racing season better than ever.”

Chris Page has taken the early lead in the driver standings with 11 wins in 61 starts. Tony Hall is just behind him with 10 wins in 63 starts, with last year’s driver of the year, Brett Miller, sitting third. On the trainer side, 28-time leading trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. has 11 wins in 22 starts; Ron Burke sits second with six wins in 21 starts.

Handle numbers also continue to increase, both overall and on-track now that construction of Scioto’s new grandstand is complete. Through the first five days of racing, Scioto has seen an 18 per cent increase over 2022 wagering numbers, with Wednesday’s total handle the largest yet of the live racing season.

“We had a great crowd on Saturday with perfect weather, food trucks, live music and, of course, great racing,” continued Roth. “Our handle is increasing and we’ve had a couple large pools that we hope puts more eyes on our races and keeps the momentum going.”

Scioto has quite a few promotions to keep the on-track crowd engaged, including racing bingo every Thursday. A Last Man Standing handicapping contest is held each month on the first and third Saturday, next one coming up on May 20, during the live racing season. In addition, anyone who places a $50 single ticket live wager with a teller will receive a Racing Frenzy entry – keep those entries and deposit them during the special Memorial Day card on Monday, May 29 for the chance to win up to a $500 wager.

Free program pages are available daily on the Scioto Downs website, both for qualifiers and live racing. Race replays are also available on the website.

The 90-day Scioto Downs live racing season goes through Saturday, Sept. 16. The typical race schedule is Tuesdays-Saturdays with first post of 3:15 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and 5:50 p.m. first post for Thursdays-Saturdays.

More information about the entire Scioto Downs racing season, including race schedule, wagering menu, VIP room reservations and more can be found at the Scioto Downs website.

(Eldorado Scioto Downs)