Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs

Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs, formerly known as Scioto Downs Racino, is a horse racing track and casino in Columbus, Ohio, owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The venue opened in 1959, as the Scioto Downs track, and became Ohio's first racino 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 117,000 square feet (10,900 m²), with over 2,200 VLTs.^[1]

Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs
Location	Columbus, Ohio
Address	6000 South High Street
Opening date	June 1, 2012
Total gaming space	117,000 sq ft (10,900 m2)
Casino type	Racino
Owner	Caesars Entertainment
Coordinates	39.8406°N 82.9958°W / 39.8406; -82.9958
Website	www.caesars.com/scioto-downs

Scioto Downs

Date opened	1959
Race type	Standardbred
Course type	5/8-mile oval

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 horse racing simulcast room and live harness racing 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.^[2] MTR merged in 2014 with Eldorado Resorts,^[3] which then changed its name to Caesars Entertainment in 2020.^[4]

Scioto Downs has a long history within the Columbus, Ohio community. In addition to horse racing, Scioto Downs also hosted the annual Ohio High School Athletic Association state cross country running championships, which were generally held in late October or early November, from 1985 to 2010.^[5] 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.^[5] 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.^[6]

In March 2020, Scioto Downs, along with all of Ohio casinos, were shut down due to state mandated COVID-19 restrictions.^[7] One year later, Scioto Downs had record breaking revenues in March 2021 after all restrictions were lifted.^[8]

Gallery

• 
  Aerial view
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  VLT games
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  VLT games
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  Live race at Scioto Downs

See also

• Ohio portal

• List of casinos in Ohio

References

1. Armon, Rick (May 31, 2012). "First racino in Ohio opens Friday". Akron Beacon Journal. Archived from the original on 2012-06-19. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
2. "MTR closes Scioto Downs purchase". Columbus Business First. August 6, 2003. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
3. John Guerriero (September 20, 2014). "MTR Gaming merger with Eldorado now official". Erie Times-News. Retrieved 2014-11-27.
4. Ken Ritter (July 20, 2020). "Eldorado finishes $17.3B buyout of Caesars Entertainment". Associated Press. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
5. "OHSAA ponders status of state cross country meet at Scioto Downs". The Plain Dealer. July 13, 2009.
6. John Vargo (August 17, 2011). "State meet moves". Tribune Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2013-12-20.
7. Jim Tomlin, "Ohio Casinos Face Revenue Shortage Amid Closures," Top US Casinos, April 9, 2020.
8. Jim Tomlin, "Ohio Casinos and Racinos Shatter Revenue Records in March," Top US Casinos, April 7, 2021.

External links

• Official website