Scioto: Handles surges on opening night

The weather for opening night was a bit turbulent but fans showed up for live racing at Eldorado Scioto Downs and the wagering menu was full of opportunities for Tuesday (May 4). With moderately heavy rain in the early afternoon, the Scioto track crew and track consultant Dan Coon worked diligently to keep the track tight. By race three the rain reappeared and downgraded the track to 'good' until race 11.

Undeterred by the somewhat sloppy racing conditions, handicappers more than tripled the opening night handle ($637,641) compared to 2019 ($210,799).

"A lot of new people saw the Scioto signal last year when we were the first harness track to re-open after COVID-19 shut us all down," said Eldorado Scioto Downs Director of Racing Jason Roth. "We knew we couldn't duplicate last year's numbers, but are glad to see how many people are wagering on our product this year."

New for 2021 are 100% carryover net pools into the next Superfecta, Super High Five, Pick-3, Pick-4 and Pick-5 wagers; the Pick-6 continues to have a 75% carryover net pool into the next wager with a 25% consolation payout to the best ticket. Three wagers produced instant carryovers on opening night:

- $2,187 in the Super High Five in race 4 resulted in a $22,113 pool for race 9
- $4,007 will carry over to the early Pick-4 starting in the first race on Wednesday (May 5)
- $1,030 will carry over to the Pick-6 starting in race six on Thursday (May 6)

Partnering with the USTA Strategic Wagering program, the early Pick 4 for Wednesday will be guaranteed at $20,000.

Two wagers have low takeout, including the "Players Pick 5" at 14 percent and the Pick 6 at 15 percent. Minimum wagers for those bets are 50 cents and 20 cents, respectively.

Live racing at Eldorado Scioto Downs is held Tuesday-Saturday, with a first post of 6:15 p.m. View the entire 2021 racing schedule here.

-release (Eldorado Scioto Downs)