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Archive for the ‘Horse Racing Tracks – West Virginia’ Category

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races

608 East Washington Street

Charles Town, West Virginia 25414

United States

Telephone: (304) 725 7001

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (wikipedia.org)

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races is a gambling facility owned by Penn National Gaming and located just outside the eastern city limits of Charles Town, West Virginia. It features a six furlong thoroughbred horse racing facility that is home of the West Virginia Breeders’ Classic. It also contains over 5,000 slot machines, which help to generate 1,400 jobs for the surrounding community. As of July 2010, they now have table games.

The Charles Town Race Track was opened on December 2, 1933 by the Shenandoah Valley Jockey Club. It has changed owners over the years and in 1997 was purchased by Penn National.

In 2008, the track inaugurated The Sprint Festival, four open stakes worth a total of $500,000. These are the 4½ furlong $200,000 Charles Town Invitational Dash for colts and geldings three-years-old and up, the $100,000 Lady Charles Town for 3-year-old fillies at 4½ furlongs, the $100,000 West Virginia Sprint Derby for 3-year-olds at 4½ furlongs, and the $100,000 Red Legend Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs.

In 2009, it inaugurated the Charles Town Classic for older horses running a distance of one and 1/8 mile. The purse was “tiered” and was determined by the graded status of the winner. The purse’s range was from between $500,000 and $1,000,000. In 2010, the purse was increased to $1,000,000, regardless of the winner’s prior race record, making it one of the biggest races of the year in the USA.

Also on the property is a 150-room hotel, The Inn at Charles Town, and several dining facilities, including a food court, track side restaurant, and the Skyline Terrace. On June 9, 2007 local voters defeated a referendum to permit expansion of the facility to include dice and card “table games”.

On December 5, 2009, a second referendum was held on table games and this time voters approved the referendum to allow table games at the venue. As of July 2, 2010, the facility, for years known as “Charles Town Races & Slots,” was renamed “Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races.” It now features a 1930s Art Deco and classic Hollywood theme, as well as various table games like blackjack and roulette and a 30-table poker room.

Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort

Route 2 South

Chester, West Virginia 26034

United States

Telephone: (304) 387 8300

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (wikipedia.org)

Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort is a thoroughbred racetrack and casino resort located southwest of Chester, West Virginia (Wellsville, Ohio, across the Ohio River is actually closer), and owned by MTR Gaming Group.

The name Mountaineer Race Track is new but the track existed long before it was named Mountaineer. The track was known as Waterford Park prior to 1990. The track was authorized to have slot machines and installed them in 1994.

With the revenue that a casino of 3,200 slots, table games, and a hotel resort provides, the Mountaineer Gaming Group (Nasdaq: MNTG), the owners of Mountaineer are able to offer very good purses. The reputation of the track changed from being one of an old, run-down facility which raced only claimers to a track which was decent and respectable.

Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort’s image is further enhanced by nationwide coverage of the track’s West Virginia Derby, a Grade II race that has significantly grown in stature and purse in the past decade. The 2010 race is scheduled for August 7, 2010. This first Saturday in August traditionally has been the day the Derby takes place, and is the only day of the calendar that the track offers afternoon racing. Otherwise, the races are run at night, at 7pm (Eastern Time).

Mountaineer announced the opening of its casino table games for December 20, 2007. The resort furnishes its gamblers with 50 casino table games. Among these are blackjack, three card poker, and roulette.

The track has a main dirt track with a one mile oval. The turf course is seven furlongs long and inside the dirt. The track is curved slightly in the front stretch. The track also has a large casino and resort on site.

With the construction of the casino and resort at Mountaineer, the quality of racing has increased hugely. The track has been able to offer purses much higher than those in neighboring states and thus have attracted larger field and the products of such a higher parimutuel handle and better attendance. Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort had been considered as a possible host for the 2009 Breeders’ Cup, but it was awarded to Santa Anita [2]. The track runs many stakes and overnight handicaps. Here, in order, are the stakes that ran at Mountaineer in 2005:

• Panhandle Handicap
• Hancock County Handicap
• Waterford Park Handicap
• I.C. Light Memorial Day Handicap
• Decoration Day Handicap
• Ohio Valley Handicap
• Slipton Fell Handicap
• Golden Sylvia Handicap
• Coca-Cola Independence Day Stakes
• Firecracker Stakes
• Mountain State Stakes
• West Virginia Derby (Grade II)
• West Virginia Governor’s Stakes
• Harvey Arneault Memorial Breeders’ Cup Stakes
• West Virginia Senate President’s Breeders’ Cup
• West Virginia House of Delegates Speaker’s Cup
• West Virginia Legislature Chairman’s Cup
• West Virginia Secretary of State
• Mountaineer Juvenile Stakes
• Mountaineer Juvenile Fillies Stakes
• Labor Day Stakes
• Summer Finale Stakes
• Fall Stakes
• Autumn Leaves Stakes
• Mountaineer Mile Handicap
• Sophomore Sprint Championship Stakes
• Christmas Stakes
• New Year’s Eve Stakes