Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs, formerly known as Scioto Downs Racino, is a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

track and

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The venue opened in 1959, as the Scioto Downs track, and became Ohio's first

racino A racino is a combined horse racing track, or other live parimutuel betting facility, and casino. In some cases, the permitted form of casino gambling is limited to slot machines or video lottery terminals, but many locations also offer table ...

with the addition of video lottery terminals (VLTs) on June 1, 2012. The track was annexed by Columbus from Hamilton Township in 2012. The casino is , with over 2,200 VLTs.

Information

Eldorado Scioto Downs is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In addition to the VLT gaming facility, Scioto Downs includes a year-round

simulcast room and live

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

from May to September. In May 2013 Scioto Downs started a live outdoor summer music concert series with national acts, primarily in country, rock and blues genres.

History

MTR Gaming Group purchased Scioto Downs in 2003 for $19 million. MTR merged in 2014 with Eldorado Resorts, which then changed its name to Caesars Entertainment in 2020. Scioto Downs has a long history within the Columbus, Ohio community. In addition to

, Scioto Downs also hosted the annual

Ohio High School Athletic Association The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) is the governing body of athletic programs for junior and senior high schools in the state of Ohio. The OHSAA governs eligibility of student athletes, resolves disputes, organizes levels of comp ...

state

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...

championships, which were generally held in late October or early November, from 1985 to 2010. The meet included Division I, II, and III races for both girls and boys, featuring 950 competitors from 96 teams, and attracted around 10,000 spectators. With the introduction of VLT machines to Scioto Downs (a move shared by other Ohio racetracks) the OHSAA, which is opposed to live gambling, announced that from the 2011 meet the OHSAA championships would move from Scioto to the

National Trail Raceway National Trail Raceway is a quarter-mile dragstrip located between Hebron, Ohio, Hebron and Kirkersville, Ohio, Kirkersville, Ohio, Ohio, USA, off of U.S. Route 40 in Ohio, U.S. Route 40. The race track is located about 30 minutes east of Columb ...

. In March 2020, Scioto Downs, along with all of Ohio casinos, were shut down due to state mandated

COVID-19 restrictions During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions), were implemented in numero ...

.Jim Tomlin
"Ohio Casinos Face Revenue Shortage Amid Closures,"
Top US Casinos, April 9, 2020. One year later, Scioto Downs had record breaking revenues in March 2021 after all restrictions were lifted.Jim Tomlin
"Ohio Casinos and Racinos Shatter Revenue Records in March,"
Top US Casinos, April 7, 2021.

Gallery

File:Scioto Downs.jpg, Aerial view File:Wheel of Fortune.jpg, VLT games File:Internal VLT photo.jpg, VLT games File:Last Turn.jpg, Live race at Scioto Downs

References

External links

* Horse racing venues in Ohio Casinos in Ohio Buildings and structures in Franklin County, Ohio Tourist attractions in Franklin County, Ohio Caesars Entertainment 1959 establishments in Ohio {{Ohio-sports-venue-stub

Information

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links