Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort is a

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racetrack and casino resort located on the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...

north of

New Cumberland, West Virginia New Cumberland is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, West Virginia, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,020 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area. History Formerly ...

. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by

Century Casinos Century Casinos, Inc. is a gaming company based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The company operates ten casinos in Colorado, Missouri, West Virginia, and Alberta. It also operates casinos on four cruise ships for TUI Cruises. It owns a 67 percent ...

. It is notable for being the first race track in the United States to get slot machines and become a

racino A racino is a combined race track and casino. In some cases, the gambling is limited to slot machines, but many locations are beginning to include table games such as blackjack, poker, and roulette. In 2003, Joe Bob Briggs described the eco ...

History and information

Originally to be known as Waterford Downs, the track's parent company was incorporated in 1937. The effort was led by Al Boyle, president of the Charles Town Races, who named it after his family's ancestral home of Waterford, Ireland. The company's

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...

was approved in February 1939, with the track expected to open the following September. By August 1940, construction had not begun, but 250 acres of land had been bought or optioned. In 1942, Boyle planned to begin construction of the track, but expected the grandstand to be delayed at least until 1943 by a steel shortage due to World War II. Construction was finally underway by July 1948, with opening scheduled for September 1949. The name was changed to Waterford Park in 1950. Opening day was finally held on May 19, 1951. In the mid-1950s, Boyle sold the track to James F. Edwards. The

Ogden Corporation Ogden may refer to: Places Canada *Ogden, Calgary, in Calgary, Alberta *Ogden, Quebec, a small municipality in the Eastern Townships *Ogdensville, British Columbia or Ogden City, alternate names for gold rush-era Seymour Arm, British Columbia *Ogd ...

acquired Edwards's holdings, including Waterford Park, in 1969. Mountaineer Park clubhouse

The track was purchased by Bill Blair and renamed as Mountaineer Park in 1987. In 1992, Blair sold the track to California-based Excalibur Holding Co. for $4 million cash plus $2.7 million in stock. The track was authorized to have slot machines and installed them in 1994. Excalibur was renamed Winners Entertainment, then renamed

MTR Gaming Group MTR Gaming Group was a gaming company based in Chester, West Virginia that operated horse racing tracks and racinos. It was formed on March 7, 1988, in Wilmington, Delaware. On September 19, 2014, it merged with Eldorado Holdco LLC, forming E ...

. Mountaineer added casino table games on December 20, 2007, with 50 tables, including blackjack, three card poker, and roulette. In 2019, Eldorado Resorts (which had merged with MTR Gaming in 2014) sold Mountaineer, along with two other properties, to

and Vici Properties. Century bought Mountaineer's operating business for $30 million, while Vici bought the land and buildings for $97 million and leased them to Century.

Physical attributes

The track has a main dirt track with a one-mile oval. The turf course is seven furlongs long and inside the dirt. The track is curved slightly in the front stretch. The track also has a large casino and resort on site. The casino has 3,200 slot machines.

Racing

Mountaineer was one of the busiest Thoroughbred courses in the country with as many as 217 racing dates scheduled in year 2012. The Mountaineer live racing season had consisted of 4 to 5 nights per week, starting as early as March and ending as late as December. This had been reduced to 130 racing dates, running May through November by 2019 The track had been able to offer purses much higher than those in neighboring states and attracted larger field and the products of such a higher parimutuel handle and better attendance. Over the past decade, competition from surrounding states increased, and purses have reduced. Mountaineer hosts the

West Virginia Derby The West Virginia Derby is an American Grade III stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred race horses run over a distance of miles on the dirt at Mountaineer Race Track in Chester, West Virginia in August. The purse for the event is US$500,0 ...

, a Grade III race that had significantly grown in stature and purse in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s to a Grade II race, but has also had its purse reduced and reverted to a Grade III race in recent years. The first Saturday in August traditionally has been the day the Derby takes place, and is the only day of the calendar that the track offers afternoon racing. Otherwise, the races are run at 7pm. Mountaineer had previously been considered as a possible host for the 2009

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, i ...

, but it was awarded to Santa Anita.'09 Breeders' Cup to be held at Santa Anita
/ref> The track runs many stakes and overnight handicaps. Here, in order, are the stakes that ran at Mountaineer in 2005:

Graded events

The following Graded events were held at Mountaineer Racetrack in 2019. Grade III *

West Virginia Governor's Stakes The West Virginia Governor's Stakes is a Grade III American thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and older over a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt held annually in August at Mountaineer Race Track in Cheste ...

Stakes events

* Coca-Cola Independence Day Stakes * Firecracker Stakes * Mountain State Stakes * Harvey Arneault Memorial Breeders' Cup Stakes * West Virginia Senate President's Breeders' Cup * West Virginia House of Delegates Speaker's Cup * West Virginia Legislature Chairman's Cup * West Virginia Secretary of State * Mountaineer Juvenile Stakes * Mountaineer Juvenile Fillies Stakes ** Fall Stakes * Autumn Leaves Stakes * Mountaineer Mile Handicap * Sophomore Sprint Championship Stakes *

References

External links

* {{Authority control Event venues on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Horse racing venues in West Virginia Buildings and structures in Hancock County, West Virginia Tourist attractions in Hancock County, West Virginia Casinos in West Virginia Sports venues in West Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Hancock County, West Virginia Sports venues on the National Register of Historic Places 1951 establishments in West Virginia Sports venues completed in 1951 Casinos completed in 1994