On Monday, June 30, officials with Penn National Gaming, Inc. issued a release stating that Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway will open its doors to the public in Ohio on Thursday, August 28, pending final regulatory approval.

The release also states that the racino will celebrate a second grand opening on October 3, when harness racing begins on the new five-eighths-mile, all-weather racetrack.

In the release, Gary DeWitt, the GM of Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway, stated that the building itself is nearing completion.

The $250 million development is located in North Dayton. The gaming floor will open with 1,000 Video Lottery Terminals and a wide variety of dining and entertainment options. The adjacent racetrack grandstand includes more than 1,000 enclosed seats and a simulcast theatre that will allow race fans to wager on races at tracks throughout North America.

Once its doors open on August 28, Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

It was announced earlier this year that Grand Circuit racing will take place at Dayton this coming fall. The new Dayton races, with estimated 2014 purses of $100,000 each, are for four-year-old and older Open-class horses and geldings. The races have been named the Dayton Pacing Derby and Dayton Trotting Derby, although a contest to rename them is likely to take place later this year. Both races are scheduled for Friday, October 24.

(With files from Penn National Gaming)