Miami Valley Gaming and Racing is anxiously awaiting the start of its second exciting season of live harness racing when the calendar turns to 2015 in six weeks.
Opening night of the rapidly approaching 89-program season is Friday, January 2 with continuous five-days-a-week live racing scheduled through Sunday, May 3.
Both patrons and participating horsemen will immediately notice a number of major capital improvements to the facility in both the grandstand and the backstretch paddock.
The first thing fans are likely to notice is a brand new permanent infield tote board complete with a state-of-the-art video panel as well as much-improved display of all the pertinent pari-mutuel information. Inside the grandstand, all the big-screen digital high definition televisions have been lowered from their previous elevation and remounted to allow for improved viewing and sight lines. Live races will be shown on televisions at the 1803 casino bar and premier live racing events will be telecast throughout the gaming floor. Patrons who sign up for Fast-Bet Mobile service will be able to wager on Miami Valley races on their smart phones or on iPads which will be available at the racing services desk for those that would prefer to use them to wager from their tables.
Less noticeable, but equally as important, 'front side' improvements for 2015 are installation of a paved sidewalk for horse owners from the grandstand to the winner's circle, installation of a pad for the required on-site ambulance, and relocating of a fire hydrant to a position further from the live racing action.
Horsemen planning to compete at Miami Valley Raceway in 2015 have two reasons to be optimistic. First, purses will be considerably higher than they were during the inaugural 2014 meet because the casino VLTs (video lottery terminals) will have been operational for over a full year.
"Based on the current purse pool and projected probable future business levels between now and the end of April, we will be able to offer significantly higher nightly purses over our 89 programs (up from 65 in 2014). After consultation with the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association we have agreed to start the meet with an average nightly purse allocation of $90,000 for the first month," said the track’s race secretary, Gregg Keidel. "That number compares to $60,000 average per night over our first season and is further confirmation that Ohio racing is truly enjoying a well-deserved renaissance."
Secondly, a host of welcomed paddock improvements will make the racing experience more enjoyable than it was during the 2014 season when the region experienced its coldest and worst winter in over 25 years. Radiant gas heating units have been installed up and down both aisleways throughout the 140-stall paddock. In addition, the entire roof and the backs of all the outside wall stalls have been fully insulated. Louvered shutters will cover the windows of all the exterior stalls as well. The improved heating of the mammoth paddock is just one of the backstretch capital projects currently well underway. Others include installation of two additional 200-gallon hot water tanks, better sloping of the wash stalls and the addition of three grinder pumps to allow quicker and better drainage, and the addition of five more big screen and two smaller television monitors throughout the paddock.
"Our original opening timeline for racing wasn't until the second quarter of 2013. The tradeoff for opening earlier in February than originally anticipated was that we would have some facilities issues to address at a later date. Throughout 2014, Miami Valley has worked diligently to complete our paddock and tote board projects and we're excited about starting our second season of live racing," said Jim Simms, the track’s president and general manager.
Miami Valley will feature a consistent five-programs-a-week schedule throughout the four-month season. Nightly post time will be 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday through Saturday, plus a 3:00 p.m. weekly Sunday matinee.
Horsemen interested in participating at Miami Valley Raceway in 2015 are asked to complete and submit a Ship-In Application and Waiver of Liability form prior to racing for the first time. The forms will be available soon on the track's website, miamivalleygaming.com, under the racing tab.
(Miami Valley)