Columbus, OH – The opening weekend of Eldorado Scioto Downs saw many horses win at high odds or producing high payouts. Of the 44 races contested Thursday through Saturday, eight winners were over double-digit odds, with 18 horses paying more than $10 to win.
Carryovers were also seen all three cards, including the $.20 Superfecta and Super Hi-5, the $1 Pick-4 and $.50 Pick-5, both which have a low 14% takeout. There are two carryovers going into Tuesday’s card – over $1,700 into the early Pick-4 and $5,000 starting the early Pick-5, which now has a $20,000 guarantee through the USTA’s Strategic Wagering Program.
Saturday night (May 9) was “Buckeye night” with 11 of the 16 races for the Buckeye Stallion Series, and the other five races the newly created Buckeye Claiming Series. Of the six divisions of colt pacers held, sons of Downbytheseaside won four of the races, the fastest being Odds On RPJ and Touchedbythesea, who both won in 1:52.3.
3-Year-Old Colt Trot Winners
Time Has Come and Brady Brown won the first division in 1:56.1 for co-owner and trainer Miles Wollam and Acadia Farms. The Uncle Peter colt now has four wins in five lifetime starts. Mile Range (Brett Miller) was second with Mister Moolah (Chris Page) third.
The second division went to Royal Enterprise and Page in 1:55.4. The Enterprise colt trained by Greg Wright, Jr. and owned by Jon Erdner won by six and a half lengths. Long Hill (Luke Hanners) was second with Hall Stead (Chris Lems) third.
Ready For Sunshine, a Ready For Moni gelding, took the third division in 1:57.2 for owner Robert Laniewicz and trainer Deborah Swartz. Dublins Holiday (Page) was second with Out Of Range (Miller) third.
Bitcoin King and Austin Hanners took the fourth division in 1:55.4. Co-owned by trainer Chris Beaver and Part Time Stable, the Uncle Peter colt now has $80,863 in earnings with two lifetime wins. Whoisthis (Mike Wilder) was second with Dan’s Victory (Page) third.
Eckert Hill Brady and Sam Widger took the last division in 1:56.3. Co-owned by trainer Rosy Weaver, Roger Huston & Barbara Wilson, it was the 10th lifetime win for the In Range gelding. Jackie Jann (Wilbur Yoder) was second with Another Round (L. Hanners) third.
3-Year-Old Colt Pace Winners
Downbytheseaside sons nearly swept the all the pace races, taking the first four divisions, out of six:
Global took the first division in 1:53.2 with Lems at the lines. Trained by Brian Brown for Diamond Creek Racing, the colt is four for five seasonally after not racing as a 2-year-old. Myboypank (Marvin Luna) was second with Odds On Ray (Page) third.
Odds On RPJ (Page) won the second division in 1:52.3 for trainer Virgil Morgan, Jr. and owner Odds On Racing, in his seasonal debut. The Ebony Dragon (L. Hanners) was second with Rock On Beach (Miller) third.
The third division went to Touchedbythesea, driven by Page for trainer Ron Buke, in 1:52.3. Owned by Burke Racing, Knox Services, Slaughter Racing and Weaver Bruscemi, it was just the third start ever for the gelding and a new lifetime mark. Tsunami Seas (L. Hanners) was second with Seven Seas (Cameron McCown) third.
Odds On Sugar was the second winner for the Page/Morgan/Odds On Racing connections, winning in 1:53.2. Morgan and Operation Horsepower also own the colt who earned $81,081 as a 2-year-old. After placings, Fire The Dems (A. Hanners) was second with Ultimate Catch (Lems) third.
Legends Rule, by Bit Of A Legend N, won the fifth division in 1:54 for Page and trainer Teesha Symes. Richard McGlynn and Randy Marriage own the gelding making his seventh lifetime start. Fire The Prez (Lems) was second with Worknupalather (Wilder) third.
The closer was won by Odds On Phil, a son of Lather Up, and Luke Hanners in 1:53. Another with Morgan/Odds On Racing connections making his first seasonal start, Odds On Phil notched his fourth lifetime victory. Fired Up Henry L (Hand LeVan) was second with Ninetynineproblems (Wilder) third.
Drivers Luke Hanners and Chris Page are tied for the lead with eight wins each so far in the first three nights of racing. Brett Miller and David Miller are then tied for third with five wins each. On the training side, Virgil Morgan, Jr. has taken the early lead with 9 wins in 27 starts.
Racing continues Tuesday (May 12) with another 16-race card going postward at 5:15 p.m. Don’t forget Monday’s nine qualifiers can be caught live on RTN via streaming services such as Roku, Amazon FireStick and online at www.rtn.tv. Free program pages are available on the Scioto Downs website for both qualifiers and all live racing cards.
The 91-day regular season 2026 Eldorado Scioto Downs race meet runs until Saturday, September 19. Races will be held Tuesday-Saturday, with special holiday cards on Memorial Day and Labor Day instead of the Tuesday card that week. More information about racing at Scioto can be found on the Eldorado Scioto Downs website.