Refined made her first start back in four months an impressive one, leaving from the eight hole to win by two lengths in 1:52 in the main event on Thursday (May 11) at Eldorado Scioto Downs, the track's first card of 2023.
Driven by Tyler Smith for trainer Virgil Morgan Jr., Refined went off at 5-2 and paid $7.60 to win in the $30,000 Filly & Mare Open Trot for owners Joyce McClelland and Larry Wills.
Race favourite Fawn De Touch (Tony Hall) finished second while Swan Fine Lady (Chris Page) rounded out the trifecta.
The first six races saw six different drivers head to the winner’s circle; by the end of the 16-race card, 10 different drivers got their picture taken. Dan Noble and Austin Hanners took the early lead in the driver standings by capturing three races each.
“I’m optimistic we are going to have a great season,” said Jason Roth, Scioto’s Director of Racing. “We have a deep driver colony, great purses and everyone is excited about the new grandstand. With Jenna [Otten] here doing on-air handicapping with Barry [Vicroy, announcer] and interviews, we’re going to create a lot of content about Scioto racing both on the simulcast feed and online.”
Opening night handle was up 31 per cent over 2022 opening night, with just one more race on the card. There was an instant carryover from the third race 20-cent Superfecta to the fifth race, which saw over $16,000 in new money wagered.
New to the 2023 wagering menu, Scioto has both an early and a late Pick-5 wager, with the track’s lowest takeout of 15 per cent. If not hit, each Pick-5 will 100 per cent carry over to the next day’s early or late Pick-5. Neither were hit on opening night, so the early Pick-5 starting in race three and the late Pick-5 starting in race eight on the Friday, May 12 card will include those carryovers.
Free program pages are available daily on the Scioto Downs website, both for qualifiers and live racing. Race replays are also available.
The 90-day Scioto Downs live racing season goes through Saturday, Sept. 16. The typical race schedule will be Tuesdays-Saturdays with first post of 3:15 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and 5:50 p.m. for Thursdays-Saturdays.
(Scioto Downs)