Fifteen qualifiers were held Wednesday morning at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino in preparation for the opening of the 2016 live harness racing meet that kicks off on Friday, April 1.
The non-wagering events marked the first trip of the season for many of the Indiana horsemen over the main track surface with addition of the recently completed passing lane.
The main track and backstretch area opened for training on Monday, March 14. Hoosier Park’s seven-eighths mile oval has been thoroughly prepared by Hoosier Park’s Track Superintendent, Gary Wolff, and received positive reviews from all who encountered it.
“The track is in really good condition,” driver Tyler Smith noted after the first qualifier of the day. “Once it gets a few more horses over it, the surface will get a lot tighter and faster. The wind was a big factor today, but it feels good to be back.”
Smith returns to Hoosier Park for the 2016 season after a successful winter meet in his home state of Ohio at Miami Valley Raceway and Dayton Raceway. The 23-year-old driver finished second in the leading driver standings at Hoosier Park in 2015 and will return for his seventh full season in the bike in 2016.
The quickest mile of the day belonged to a pair of veteran pacers: JL Dontwastemytime stopped the timer in 1:56.2 for trainer Trent Stohler while Halton Hurricane gave Tyler George one of his four victories on the day.
Now in the 23rd season of live racing, Hoosier Park is set to begin live racing with a daily post time of 5:45 p.m. The first condition sheet has been made available and can be found on Hoosier Park’s website here. Qualifiers will continue to follow a Wednesday and Saturday schedule throughout the remainder of the season.
Live racing at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino will follow a Friday, Saturday schedule the opening week, a Thursday, Friday, Saturday schedule the second week and then resume a Tuesday through Saturday schedule throughout the remainder of the meet. The 160-day season will be conducted through November 12, 2016.
(Hoosier Park)