Mountaineer's 2018 meet cut to 123 days

The West Virginia Racing Commission has approved a 123-date racing schedule for Mountaineer Park this year. The season will run May 1 through Nov. 28, with racing Sundays through Wednesdays beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Mountaineer has not released its stakes schedule yet, but the West Virginia Derby is penciled in for Saturday, Aug. 4, with a 2 p.m. first post. The track also will race on Kentucky Derby Day, Saturday, May 5. There will be no racing on Wednesday, July 4.

In 2015, Mountaineer cut its planned 210-day meet short due to purse-account problems and raced 160 days. The track also raced 160 days in 2016.

Last year, the meet was scheduled for 160 days, but early in the season the West Virginia Racing Commission, at the request of the local Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, directed management to reduce the number of days to keep average daily purses on par with 2016. The track raced 131 days.