Belterra begins what should be a fun meet for fans

A number of Ohio’s leading horses, and one of the state’s mainstay riders, will be honored at Belterra Park, which has a number of fan-friendly initiatives on tap as its season begins Thursday.

After three Thursday-through-Saturday race weeks to open the season, racing will continue on a Wednesday-through-Saturday schedule. The meet runs through Oct. 5.

Belterra is celebrating its 10-year anniversary after taking over Cincinnati-area racing from the old River Downs. There are 15 stakes on the schedule, with the biggest day coming June 7 when the track kicks off the Best of Ohio series.

Each of the state’s Thoroughbred tracks will host a program of five $100,000 stakes for statebreds. Thistledown, which also opened this week, has Best of Ohio races on Aug. 10; and Mahoning Valley, which reopens in the fall, hosts the series Oct. 26.

Belterra’s Best of Ohio stakes are the Babst/Palacios Memorial and Diana Stakes for sprinters; the Norm Barron Queen City Oaks for sophomore fillies; the Green Carpet Stakes for 3-year-olds on the turf; and the Sydney Gendelman Memorial for older horses on the turf.

On Best of Ohio Day there will be a mandatory payout of the High 5 wager on the final race of the day.

Fair and Square, who raced on all three Best of Ohio programs last year and won the Best of Ohio Endurance at Mahoning Valley, earned honors from the Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners as statebred horse of the year, male runner, and 3-year-old male. He will be presented with those honors at a ceremony on the Best of Ohio card.

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The other 2023 Ohio-bred awards winners are Back to Ohio (female sprinter, 3-year-old filly), Candlelight Hours (female runner), Trojan Tale (male sprinter), Who Dey (2-year-old male), City Scene (2-year-old female), Shadowy (accredited male), Mobil Chic (accredited female), and Henry Mac (claimer of the year).

On the first weekend of May, Belterra will hold Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby viewing parties with giveaways and a trackside DJ. In one of several attractions for children this year, a mini horse named “Perry Oats” is expected to make his trackside debut for meet-and-greets with fans.

On Derby Day, the mini’s namesake, veteran jockey Perry Ouzts, will be honored with a winner’s circle presentation and the unveiling of a tribute to his ongoing career. Ouzts became the fifth-leading rider in North American history last summer at Belterra.

“Perry for us – we know he’s fifth in the nation, but he’s number one to us here at Belterra,” said Ashley Holliday, Belterra’s racing manager. “We want him to enjoy the spoils of his wins and efforts while he’s still here riding.”

Belterra will continue engaging fans with winner’s circle photo experiences available for purchase for groups, along with a new racing experience package, in which fans can call “riders up” for a race and co-announce the post parade with track announcer Ed Meyer.

Proceeds from those experiences will go to the racehorse adoption program New Vocations. Belterra is looking to become more active as a liaison between horsemen with runners retiring from the track and the organization that re-trains and places them.

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