Columbus, OH – More than 350 horses dropped into the box for the first 2020 qualifiers to be held at Eldorado Scioto Downs on Saturday (May 16).  Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming response many horsemen were left out.  Preference was, and will continue to be, given to trainers who have been part of the racing program and regularly raced horses at the south Columbus oval.

“We wrote a ‘condition sheet’ for Saturday’s qualifiers so that the type of horses qualifying would be those that could fill the box for our first couple race cards on May 22 and 23,” said Race Secretary Jason Roth.  “In anticipation of so many horses dropping in the box, we did make a requirement on the condition sheet that if you qualify at Scioto Downs, you must race at Scioto Downs.  Moving forward, it is the only fair way to make sure the opening  cards will fill.”

There are 16 qualifiers scheduled for Saturday, including a nine-horse filly and mare open and for other horses that are anticipated to race opening weekend.

“We look forward to welcoming horsemen to Scioto for the 2020 racing season,” said Joe Morris, senior vice president of racing for Eldorado Resorts.  “It is imperative that everyone, horsemen and track employees, follow the ‘Protocols for a Safe Return to Racing w/o Spectators’ put out by the Ohio State Racing Commission.  We will be the first track qualifying and then racing and other states will be looking at us to make sure we can race safely.  I will be at the stable gate for the first few qualifiers, meeting horsemen and following the stated protocols.”

For Saturday’s qualifiers, if horsemen entered in event numbers 10-16, which stated the qualifier “may be moved to Sunday (May 17) qualifiers” those horses must be re-entered.  The box for Sunday’s qualifiers will close at 10 a.m. Saturday.  Condition sheets for the first week of racing are posted on the www.ustrotting.com and available for online entry.  Qualifying condition sheets for Monday (May 18), Wednesday (May 20) and Thursday (May 21) if needed, will be posted soon.

The 2020 Eldorado Scioto Downs meet will officially kick off on Friday (May 22). The first week will have racing May Friday (May 22) and Saturday (May 23), Monday (May 25), and Wednesday through Saturday (May 27-30).  All post times that first week will be at 6:30 p.m.  Post times will be evaluated for the normal Tuesday-Saturday racing schedule in an attempt to avoid overlap with other racetracks as much as possible. For more information about Scioto Downs, visit https://www.sciotodowns.com/racing.