On Saturday (May 9) Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association Executive Director Renee Mancino issued the following statement regarding resuming racing in Ohio.
We are disappointed to report that despite multiple plans submitted and meetings beginning on April 1st and moving forward, we are nearing the close of another week in Ohio without a clear path forward to resume racing.
With each week comes a new challenge that prevents a factual announcement or final plan. During the last several weeks various rumors regarding qualifying and opening have circulated back to us from a lot of different sources. This process ebbs and flows regularly.
Currently the Associations, Racing Commission, and all Permit Holders have been trying to work towards a final plan without success.
The general tenor from the Permit Holders is a desire to continue down the path of uncertainty, without a definitive plan to resume racing, unless assurances and guarantees are received for all casino and racino operations, racing or not.
Due to this dynamic, the Ohio State Racing Commission has scheduled a series of meetings moving forward to resolve the impasse in accordance with the Governor’s Office and all Orders in place.
Our expectation is this will continue to fuel the rumor mill, likely more than ever. As advised prior, we will update as soon as we have factual information to release and definitive plans. We are working as hard and as quickly as we can to continue to roll out benevolence and get everyone back to the business of racing.
Regarding benevolence, all benevolence announced, or requests received within the last three days have been processed and sent. We thank you for your patience as we continue to do our best on behalf of the industry, with the goal as always to resume racing.
The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association will continue to provide updates regarding financial relief initiatives as they take place via ohha.com and social media outlets.
For immediate updates, please subscribe to the OHHA Emergency and Informational Text Blast system by texting “OHHA” to 1-888-808-1507.
(Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association)