Scioto: Ohio State Fair events begin on Thursday

Lots of activities, aimed at kids and families, are on tap for Saturday, August 1, at Eldorado Scioto Downs to create a fair environment as the Ohio State Fair races head to the track for the weekend.

Each of the following will be located near the program stand on Saturday:

- a bounce house (also available Friday, July 30)

- the 'Bring the Farm to You' petting zoo

- 'Paint a Horse' station

- 'Name the Foal' contest

- horseshoe decorating station

The first annual Corgi races will take place trackside with the first Corgi race to be held after the first harness horse race. Pre-registration is required and can be done through the event created from the Eldorado Scioto Downs Facebook page. Dog check-in begins at 5:00 p.m.

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The Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association will also be conducting their TV & Tickets giveaway. Enter for a chance to win one of five grand prizes, including a 55" tv, Roku stick, one month subscription for RTN (to watch harness racing from tracks across North America) and tickets to a local college football game.

On the racetrack, Ohio State Fair races will be front and center during three live racing days this week, running concurrently with the Ohio State Fair, which takes place July 29-August 9 at the Ohio Expo Center. Total purses for all 12 divisions will be just over $1.5 million.

The 2-year-old trotting races for fillies and colts will take place Thursday (July 29). The Ohio State Trot for colts will go off as races four, five and 10 with purses totaling $167,200. The Ohio Fairs Trot for fillies totals $163,500 in purses, with races going off as one, seven and 11.

For the first time in the history of Ohio State Fair races, there will be aged events. Aged mare trotters will go for $65,000 in the Don Millar Trot and aged mare pacers for $67,500 in the Senator Max H. Dennis Pace on Friday. Filly Friday will also see two divisions of the State Fair Managers Pace for 2-year-olds going for $161,700; three divisions of 3-year-olds going for $152,200 in the Ohio First Lady Pace and the Pride of Ohio Trot splitting into two divisions going for a total of $146,700.

Saturday is for the boys, with the Jim Buchy Aged Trot and the Robert Schmitz Aged Pace joining the 3-year-olds and 2-year-olds The Director of Agriculture Pace for 3-year-olds is split into three divisions, going for a total of $159,482 as races five, seven and eight. The Governors Cup for 3-year-old trotters split into two divisions, races three and six, going for $147,000. Two divisions of the Buckeye State Pace for 2-year-olds will go for $164,540 as races one and 10.

--press release (Scioto)--