Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino will kick off its 32nd season of live harness racing on Friday, March 14 with a 14-race card. A total of 104 horses have been entered for the season opener, which gets underway with a first post of 6:15 p.m.

The card will kick off with $16,000 USD conditioned event, where Noblesville makes his four-year-old debut taking on the likes of classy veterans Low Rider and General Dolan. Last year, Noblesville secured victory in the $250,000 USD Indiana Sire Stakes Super Final for three-year-old male pacers, upsetting Milstein champion Sabonis. Leaving from the rail, Noblesville, trained by Ron Burke, will be driven by Brandon Bates. The 5-2 second choice has earned $633,106 in his career.

Friday’s feature, the $18,000 USD Open Pace in Race 9, features a short field of six and is headlined by 8-5 morning line favourite Brookview Bullet. The career half-million-dollar earner from the Henry Graber Jr. barn will leave from post five with Marvin Luna in the sulky. He’ll face tough competition from Open regulars Rip Wheeler and Crooked Smile, both making their 2025 debuts after six-figure seasons last year.

When racing returns on Friday, fans will notice the absence of the Hoosier Park passing lane that was available for the last eighth of a mile in the home stretch. In partnership with the Indiana Standardbred Association, Hoosier Park will conduct a 60-day trial period without the passing lane in an effort to promote more early movement and competitive racing on the seven-eighth-mile oval.

The Friday card will also be the debut of the brand new wagering menu at Hoosier Park, with reduced takeout rates across several wagers.

Updates and additions for the 2025 wagering menu include the following:

• Early Pick 5 sequence in races one through five with the Late Pick 5 being moved to races eight through 12, with takeout lowered to 15 per cent.
• Pick 3 wagers throughout the card in races two through four, nine through 11, and the last three races of the evening with carryovers enabled for Pick 3 sequences.
• Jackpot Pick 6 replaced with a traditional Pick 6 (takeout lowered to 15 per cent) sequence in races four through nine. Should there be a carryover, 75 per cent of the pool will carry over to the next Pick 6 sequence, while 25 percent will be paid to those with the most winners.
• Early Pick 4 sequence now in races six through nine with the Late Pick 4 taking place in the last four races on the card. Takeout here is lowered to 12 per cent, the lowest in the entire sport.
• An additional Hoosier High 5 is added to race seven nightly, to go along with the traditional Hoosier High 5 in the last race of the card. There is an industry-low takeout of 12 per cent on both pools.

To go along with the return of live racing and updated wagering menu, fans who make their way to the track will be greeted with Fan Appreciation Weekend, featuring a host of giveaways, handicapping contests, and promotions throughout each of the first two cards of the season.

On Friday, Hoosier Park will feature drawings for both a $100 USD MegaBet giveaway as well as a game show-style Puck Drop Drawing with up to $250 USD in Visa gift cards available. Guests will swipe at a Trackside Promotional Kiosk to receive their entry for both drawings beginning at 5 p.m., before depositing in the contest drawing drum located at Trackside Promotions & Events next to the Program Stand. Five winners will be drawn for the Puck Drop after each of the first five races on the Friday card, while five MegaBet winners will be drawn following the conclusion of Race 3.

Race fans can also take home a complimentary Hoosier Park quarter zip by being one of the first 150 guests to show their Caesars Rewards Card and proof of a $5 wager made on a Hoosier Park race made on-track at Trackside Promotions & Events beginning at 6 p.m. while supplies last.

On Saturday, March 15, the first 200 guests to swipe at a Trackside Promotional Kiosk beginning at 5 p.m. will go home with a Mystery Voucher worth up to $250 USD. Mystery Vouchers may then be redeemed at the Main Mutuel line across from the Pegasus Bar between five and 10 p.m.

On both days, guests may receive a free Hoosier Park racing calendar at the program stand beginning at 5 p.m.

Saturday's card also features 14 races with 97 horses dropped in the box and a first post time of 6:15 p.m.

Hoosier Park will once again offer a free handicapping contest each night of the week for on-track customers. In addition, racing fans will receive double Reward Credits for wagering on live races at both Horseshoe Indianapolis and Hoosier Park when they wager using their Caesars Rewards card, which can be used for complementary offers throughout the season. For those who can’t make it to the track, Hoosier Park will offer a free, live racing program online every live racing night on the track’s website along with several additional handicapping tools for those who are new to the sport of harness racing.

Hoosier Park will operate on a Friday and Saturday schedule for each of the first two weeks of the season. From there, Hoosier Park will add Thursdays on March 26, before beginning a four-day Wednesday-Saturday schedule in April. The standard first post time nightly for the 2025 racing season will be 6:15 p.m.

Hoosier Park will once again offer a very lucrative open stakes program throughout the season highlighted by the 32nd edition of the Dan Patch Stakes (Aug. 8),  Grade 1 Peter Haughton and Jim Doherty Memorials (Sept. 12), Caesars Trotting Classic (Sept. 19), and Hoosier Champions Night (Oct. 10).

For more information on the 2025 live racing season at Hoosier Park, guests are encouraged to visit harrahshoosierpark.com.

(With files from Hoosier Park)