Harness Racing Debuts at Miami Valley Raceway
Feb. 7 - May 4, 2014
Miami Valley Raceway, set to kick off its inaugural meet on Friday, February 7, is pleased to introduce a pair of new Grand Circuit events for older mares during its first season. The new races, each with estimated purses of $50,000, are for four-year-old and up mares and will be raced on Sunday, May 4, the final program on the local 2014 calendar.
The pace will be called the Sam ‘Chip’ Noble III Memorial, honoring the beloved Ohio Hall of Fame horseman who recently succumbed to a battle with esophageal cancer. “Chip was universally liked and respected by all his Ohio harness racing brethren and will be sorely missed in the Buckeye State,” said Race Secretary Gregg Keidel. “He won over 5,000 races and represented the United States twice at the World Driving Championships. We are thrilled, with the blessing of his family, to be able to honor Chip’s memory with an annual signature Grand Circuit race.”
Hall of Famer Dave Palone, the winningest driver in harness racing history with over 16,000 victories, has accepted an invitation to race Opening Weekend at Miami Valley Raceway. Over a dozen other drivers with over 1,000 wins have announced their intentions to compete regularly.
Opening Weekend at the new five-eights-mile harness racing track is slated for Friday through Sunday, February 7-9 with a 6:30 p.m. ET post time each night.
Miami Valley, which will offer live racing Wednesdays through Sundays until early May, held qualifiers on Feb. 1, giving drivers and horses their first trips around the oval. In the 14 prep races, nine were won by a horse that was no worse than second at the half-mile point, although it is too soon to draw conclusions about how the track’s design and surface will affect racing throughout the season.
Miami Valley Raceway Information
Races Dates: February 7 - May 4, 2014
Miami Valley Raceway harness racing schedule: live racing is scheduled for Wednesdays through Sunday
Post Times: 6:30 p.m. ET post time each night