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

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, 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 basic p ...

track and

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, owned and operated by

Caesars Entertainment Caesars Entertainment, Inc., formerly Eldorado Resorts, Inc., is an American hotel and casino entertainment company founded and based in Reno, Nevada that operates more than 50 properties. Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars Entertainment Corpora ...

. The track has operated since 1959, and became Ohio's first

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 econo ...

with the addition of

video lottery terminals A video lottery terminal (VLT), also sometimes known as a video gaming terminal (VGT), video slots, or the video lottery, is a type of electronic gambling machine. They are typically operated by a region's lottery, and situated at licensed establis ...

(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, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

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 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 Eldora ...

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 compe ...

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 earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

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 OHSSA, 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 and Kirkersville, Ohio, USA, off of U.S. Route 40. The race track is located about 30 minutes east of Columbus, Ohio. It is known to local residents as 'National Trails' ...

. In March 2020, Scioto Downs, along with all of Ohio casinos, were shut down due to state mandated Covid 19 restrictions.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