For the second straight week, the Horses & Geldings Open Pace proved to be a showstopper atĀ Eldorado Scioto Downs, with Gold Digger King now 2-for-2 to start the summer harness racing season.
Gold Digger King went straight to the top with Century Farroh (Ronnie Wrenn, Jr.) parked from the eight hole to a :27 opening quarter. Bllack Hole (Brett Miller) came roaring up three-wide as the trio went under the line for the first time and they tripped the beam in :53.4 to the half. Driven byĀ Tyler Smith, Gold Digger King powered on to win by half a length over those two, stopping the timer in 1:49.2.
GOLD DIGGER KING REPLAY
The win set a new lifetime mark for the 5-year-old son ofĀ Pet RockĀ who has now gone over $309,000 in lifetime earnings. Scott Mogan does the training for owner Linda Van Camp of Circleville, Ohio. Going off at odds of 6/1, Gold Digger King paid $15.80 to win.
Bolstered by numerous carryovers, Scioto has seen great wagering numbers to start off the 2021 racing season.
“Last year we debuted 100% carryovers for our superfecta, super high five, and Pick-3, 4 and 5 races,” said Eldorado Scioto Downs Director of Racing Jason Roth. “A couple of those carryovers these last two weeks allowed us to parter with the USTA’s Strategic Wagering program and offer guaranteed wagers.”
Opening week handle was up 225% over 2019 numbers and increased over 261% for the second week. The first week was hampered by short fields, rainy weather and less than full race cards, however there was a big turnaround in the second week following the horsemen transitioning to the Scioto race schedule; full fields and 14-15 races a night became standard.
Live racing continues Tuesday-Saturday at 6:15 p.m. until closing night on Saturday, September 18. View the entire 2021 racing scheduleĀ here.
For full race results,Ā click here.
From Eldorado Scioto Downs