Scioto Downs will race its Saturday program despite a storm that swept through central Ohio on Friday evening cancelling the harness racing card.

“We’re racing at 6:30 p.m., as scheduled,” says Stacy Cahill, track general manager. “We lost power and had almost all our barn roofs ripped off. I want to thank the entire team here at Scioto who persevered and overcame this storm, which was truly of epic proportions.”

American Electric Power called the storm “catastrophic” and said that winds were higher than Hurricane Ike, which swept through the area in 2008. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in central Ohio are without power, and AEP estimates it could take five to seven days before power is fully restored.

“We took entries and drew for the Ohio Sires Stakes on July 4 using cell phones,” continued Cahill. “This was a case of many people working above and beyond, and I thank them for their heroic efforts.”

Power has been restored to the Scioto Downs racino, which is open for business.

(With files from Scioto Downs)