Ohio racing

Hugh Drexler has been appointed to the position of Director of Racing while Candy Wetzel will serve as Assistant Director of Racing at Mahoning Valley, the track announced Tuesday. Drexler will begin his duties Sept. 2, pending normal regulatory approvals. Drexler formerly served as the Racing Secretary at Thistledown in 2020/2021. The University of Arizona Racetrack Industry graduate has most recently been general manager of the North Dakota Horse Park where he has overseen racing, gaming and facilities for that organization. Drexler is a Level III accredited ROAP graduate and...

A money disagreement that has simmered for nearly a decade got a step closer to settlement Thursday when a federal judge ruled the Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (OHBPA) is entitled to $2,769,652 in gaming revenues that the present and former owners of Belterra Park withheld between 2014 and 2018. The dispute arose from Belterra's failure to pay the OHBPA its share of net-win video lottery terminal (VLT) commission from Belterra Park. The quarrel was exacerbated when the two sides disagreed over the rate that was supposed to be...

The annual Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Mixed Thoroughbred Sale is to be held at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in Delaware, Ohio, Wednesday Oct. 19 and it has drawn enthusiastic participation. The sale will start at 2:30 p.m. The grounds are open for previews/inspections at noon Oct. 18. There are a record-setting 120 entries with a variety of prospects among the 23 weanlings and 74 yearlings as well as 2-year-olds and broodmares. The 2022 edition of the sale includes a 36-entry dispersal from Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm, which has been atop...

Amadevil (Dominus) backed up her 24 1/4-length victory in maiden company when winning her second career start Monday at Thistledown, running away from seriously overmatched rivals in an Ohio-bred allowance race. She paid $2.10 in what was maybe the biggest overlay of the year. Racing for owner-trainer David Wolochuk, the 3-year-old filly debuted June 21 at Thistledown, winning by nearly a sixteenth of a mile while earning a 94 Beyer figure. That number indicated that she has the ability to win graded stakes, but, having won nothing more than a...

David Wolochuk understands that there's only so much a horse can prove in a five-furlong maiden race for Ohio-breds run over a sloppy track. Then again, he's excited about a horse named Amadevil (Dominus). And who could blame him? "Now I see why they say no one has ever died when they have a good horse in the barn," he said. "She makes it real easy to get up in the morning." On a quiet Monday afternoon earlier this month at Thistledown, the horse owned by and trained by Wolochuk...