Signs point up as Belterra opens

The impact of higher purses and a new racing secretary is clearly evident from the opening-day entries at Belterra Park in Cincinnati.

Ohio’s only track with a turf course launches its 93-day meet Friday with an eight-race program that attracted 84 horses, including four events with full fields of 12.

Overnight purses are up substantially. Open-company maiden special weight runners will compete for a $13,800 purse in the first condition book, a 64 percent increase over the $9,000 offered at the start of the 2015 season. First-level allowance horses will run for $15,500, a 52 percent boost from the $10,200 purses offered two years ago.

Allan Plever, whose 40-year career in racing includes stints as racing secretary at Hawthorne, Detroit Race Course, Great Lakes Downs, and Sportsman’s Park and a stint as a jockey agent in Illinois, is the new racing secretary.

About 150 more horses are on the grounds than at the start of last year’s meet.

New trainers with multiple horses entered on opening day include high-volume, high-percentage Karl Broberg and former Maryland mainstay Dane Kobiskie.

Chris Corrado, first-year vice president and general manager at Belterra after serving in the same role for two years at Retama Park in Texas, credits a team approach for attracting more horses and trainers.

“I saw this as an opportunity to bring in some new talent in key positions to help create a racing experience our fans will love,” Corrado said. “We do expect to have more horses racing this year, more races per day, and because of that, better payouts. I am proud of the efforts of our racing team here and their hard work shows.”

Belterra will offer 17 stakes this season, including five on closing weekend on Saturday, Oct. 7, when the Best of Ohio series returns to Cincinnati for the first time since 2014.

Belterra, which held 57 turf races last season compared with just 22 during the course’s inaugural season in 2016, is scheduled to begin turf racing Sunday.

Perry Ouzts, who won his 32nd riding title at Cincinnati tracks by riding 120 winners at age 62 last season, figures to be prominent again. Ouzts begins the meet with 6,733 career wins to rank 11th on the all-time list. His immediate goal is to pass No. 10 Mario Pino, who is still active and has 6,779 victories.