Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course received a racing permit from the Ohio State Racing Commission March 27 and plans to offer 21 days of Thoroughbred racing this fall.
The facility, currently under construction in Austintown Township near Youngstown, will have live racing, full-card simulcasts, and video lottery terminals. It will replace Beulah Park, the Columbus-area track that will hold its final live racing program May 3.
The permit granted to HJC/PDC Holdings, a subsidiary of Penn National Gaming Inc., by the OSRC is good from May 4-Dec. 31 of this year.
Chris McErlean, PNGI vice president of racing, said the inaugural meet at Mahoning Valley will run from Nov. 24-Dec. 30. Thereafter the track is expected to adopt the Beulah Park schedule: Live racing from January through April, and then a second meet in November and December.
Under an agreement between PNGI and Ohio horsemen, there will be no overlap in racing dates between Mahoning Valley and ThistleDown Racino (Thistledown) near Cleveland.