Whether it’s the thrill of making a quick bet, the competative environment or just having some wholesome family fun on a summer night, Scioto Downs has something to offer.
Scioto Downs, located south of downtown Columbus at 6000 High St., is one of four harness and thoroughbred race tracks in Ohio. The three other tracks are located in Lebanon, Toledo and Cleveland. Scioto Downs has a five-eights mile track in which the horses travel around approximately 1.5 times at speeds of 30 to 33 mph.
The 2003 season started May 8 and runs through Sept. 1. The races typically start at 7:30 p.m. and races run from Tuesday through Saturday.
“Saturday is our busiest night,” said Jason Zielinski, spokesman for Scioto Downs. “On a typical Saturday night we bring in 4,000 to 5,000 people.”
Scioto Downs entices people to come out to the tracks in a variety of ways. There is a clubhouse restaurant or outdoor patio that offers fine dining with great views of the track, a theater-like grandstand that holds 3,500 seats or the Penthouse Racebook for simulcasting racing. The Penthouse Racebook has over 114 carrels and 40 tables with televisions to watch and place bets on thoroughbred and harness racing throughout the country.
Tina Evans and her husband Harley, along with their 2-year-old son Harley Jr., come to Scioto Downs because it is a nice environment for the family to get out and have some fun.
“We like to play bingo, the lottery, gamble on boats and dog races in Wheeling, Ohio, but this is the one place to gamble that we can bring our son with us,” Tina Evans said. “Harley (Jr.) runs around and plays with his ball cheering for whatever horse I am yelling for.”
Evans admits she knows nothing about actual horse racing tactics, but has some good luck with using numbers such as her grandfather’s birthday and her anniversary date. On July 12, she won two races in a row playing the same numbers of her grandfather’s old address winning a total amount of $469. Not bad considering she only bet $12 for both races.
“It comes down to luck,” Evans said. “My husband tries to study the horses and make bets based on that, but he never wins as much as I do.”
The most the Evans family has ever won in a single night is approximately $749. Evans said they generally spend about $150 a night on admission tickets, food and placing bets.
Grandstand admission is $1.50 a person, while the clubhouse, patio and Penthouse Raceway are $3.00. Scioto Downs also offers special ticket packages for groups that include deals on seating and eating. Sunday through Tuesday, it is free admission to all areas.
People can come to daily simulcasting that begins mid-afternoon everyday of the week. Simulcasting provides ways for people to place bets through television on horse racing going on throughout the country.
In a given night, there are 13 to 20 races, each featuring up to nine horses. Typically, a horse competes in one race a week. Depending on the classification of a horse, a good race time would be in the range of 1 minute 51 seconds to 1:58.
Rick Roszman has been around horses all his life, and has been involved with horse racing for the past 25 years. He has a track farm west of Marion, Ohio.
“I got involved in horse racing because it is a great group of people, I love horses and enjoy the competition,” Roszman said.
The horse Roszman recently trained, Noble Thor, took first place in the ninth race on July 12, earning a purse of $3,000. He said it costs about $1,500 to $2,000 per month to train, feed and prepare a horse for racing. A horse will start training in September or October and be ready to compete by July of the following year.
The next big event coming up at Scioto Downs is family day during the Labor Day weekend. Backstretch tours run from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. followed at noon with activities for kids such as face painting, pony rides and clowns. Live racing begins at 1 p.m.
