After the long fall and winter stand at Mahoning Valley Racetrack in Youngstown, the Ohio Thoroughbred circuit is on the move. Spring and summer action in the Buckeye State begins with Thistledown’s meet opener on Monday in North Randall, just outside of Cleveland. Belterra Park in Cincinnati will follow, opening its season on Friday, May 1. An eight-race Monday program kicks off Thistledown’s 100-day live racing season, which runs through Oct. 8. The track runs four days a week, generally on a Monday-Thursday schedule. Thistledown has a handful of special Saturday programs that will be preceded by a Monday-Wednesday race week. Those fall on Saturday, May 2, for the Kentucky Derby simulcast; Saturday, May 16, for the Preakness Stakes; Saturday, June 6, for the Belmont Stakes; Saturday, June 20, for the marquee Ohio Derby program; and Saturday, Aug. 8, for one of the state’s three Best of Ohio showcase programs. The Grade 3, $500,000 Ohio Derby is the richest Thoroughbred race in the state and often attracts Triple Crown alumni. The Ohio Derby anchors Thistledown’s biggest card, which also includes the $250,000 Lady Jacqueline Stakes for open fillies and mares, as well as three $75,000 stakes for Ohio-breds – the George Lewis Memorial Stakes, Dr. T.F. Classen Memorial Stakes, and Daniel Stearns Cleveland Gold Cup. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. The Best of Ohio program features a state showcase card at each of the state’s three tracks – Belterra in June, Thistledown in August, and Mahoning Valley in October. Thistledown hosts five stakes worth a combined $500,000 in various divisions – the Best of Ohio Governor’s Buckeye Cup and Best of Ohio Pay the Man for older horses routing, the Best of Ohio Honey Jay for older horses sprinting, and the Best of Ohio Cleveland Kindergarten and Best of Ohio Miss Ohio for juveniles. There are six other stakes, all $75,000 events for Ohio-breds, on the Thistledown calendar. Those begin with the Michael F. Rowland Memorial Stakes on the Kentucky Derby simulcast card. The rest of the schedule consists of the J. William Petro Memorial Stakes on May 7, the Michael G. Mackey Memorial/Angenora Stakes on Sept. 3, the Catlaunch Stakes on Sept. 24, the Greg Veit Scarlet and Gray Stakes on Oct. 1, and the Emerald Necklace Stakes on Oct. 8, closing day. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.