How Ohio racinos work: lottery terminals at racetracks
Every racino in Ohio is legally a lottery sales agent. The machines on the floor are video lottery terminals owned and monitored through the Ohio Lottery’s central system, not casino slots under a gaming license. That distinction shapes everything a visitor sees: reels and video games are plentiful, while dealers, chips and poker rooms are absent at all seven tracks.
To keep the terminals, each track must keep racing. The Ohio State Racing Commission assigns race dates, and two tracks of the same breed coordinate so they do not compete for horses. Mahoning Valley’s own guest FAQ notes it is state-mandated to race in winter while Thistledown takes the summer, a pattern the harness tracks follow in their own way.
Terminals here look and play much like casino slot machines, with denominations from a penny upward and the familiar link-style progressive titles. Payout is reported each month: across fiscal 2026, Ohio racino terminals returned about 91 percent of credits played. For a deeper look at how these machines differ from casino slots, see the guide to video lottery terminals.
List of Ohio racinos and their locations
The list below covers all seven Ohio racinos with their home city, the breed raced and what sits on the gaming floor. Machine counts come from each operator’s own figures in 2026. Each name opens a full venue guide with racing days, dining, parking, hotels nearby, getting there and a short history of the track.
| Venue | City | Racing | Gaming |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northfield Park Racino | Northfield (Cleveland–Akron) | Harness, year round | 1,700+ VLTs, Caesars Sportsbook |
| JACK Thistledown Racino | North Randall (Cleveland) | Thoroughbred, spring to fall | VLTs, betJACK sportsbook |
| Eldorado Scioto Downs | Columbus | Harness, May to September | VLTs, Caesars Sportsbook, hotel |
| Belterra Park | Cincinnati | Thoroughbred, May to October | 1,100+ games, sportsbook |
| Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway | Dayton | Harness, September to December | About 1,050 machines, sportsbook |
| Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course | Austintown (Youngstown) | Thoroughbred, October to April | 1,000+ VLTs, sportsbook |
| Miami Valley Gaming | Turtlecreek Township (Lebanon) | Harness, January to spring | 2,000+ VLTs, Race and Sportsbook |
Geographically the list splits neatly. Two racinos serve greater Cleveland, one serves Columbus, three sit in the southwest around Cincinnati and Dayton, and Mahoning Valley covers the Youngstown corridor toward Pennsylvania. No racino operates in the Toledo area, where the old Raceway Park harness track gave up its license and moved south to Dayton in 2014.
Northfield Park Racino
The busiest racino sits between Cleveland and Akron on Route 8. Opened as the Hard Rock Rocksino in December 2013 and run by MGM from 2019, it was sold to Clairvest in April 2026 and rebranded as Northfield Park Racino. Harness racing runs on a half-mile oval more than 200 nights a year, and Center Stage seats 1,820 for concerts.
JACK Thistledown Racino
Thistledown is the home of the Ohio Derby, the state’s only graded stakes, worth $500,000 in 2026 and won on June 20 by Chip Honcho. The one-mile dirt oval in North Randall raced from April 20 to October 8 this year. JACK Entertainment operates the building, which includes the two-storey Revel Oak outdoor gaming patio and a betJACK sportsbook.
Eldorado Scioto Downs
Ohio’s first racino opened on 1 June 2012 on the south side of Columbus. Caesars Entertainment owns the five-eighths-mile harness track, which ran a 91-day meet from May 7 to September 19, 2026. This October it hosts all twelve Breeders Crown championship races, with eliminations on October 16 and 17 and finals on October 23 and 24.
Belterra Park
The old River Downs track on the Ohio River, where Seabiscuit raced in 1936, was rebuilt and reopened as Belterra Park in May 2014. Boyd Gaming operates it on land owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties. Thoroughbreds raced there from May 1 to October 12, 2026, on a one-mile dirt track with a seven-furlong turf course inside it.
Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway
PENN Entertainment moved its Toledo harness license to Dayton’s north side and opened this racino on 28 August 2014. The five-eighths-mile oval runs live harness racing from September to December, with simulcast wagering seven days a week. The floor holds nearly 1,050 machines, and the H Lounge books local bands on Friday and Saturday nights.
Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course
Built to replace Beulah Park near Columbus, this Austintown track opened in September 2014 and races thoroughbreds through the cold months. Its 2026 dates run January 2 to April 10 and October 19 to December 30. A patio expansion due by the end of 2026 adds more than 100 terminals, lifting the total to about 1,150.
Miami Valley Gaming
A joint venture of Delaware North and Churchill Downs Inc. replaced the old Lebanon Raceway with this $215 million racino, opened in December 2013 beside State Route 63. Its five-eighths-mile harness track races Sunday to Thursday afternoons in winter and spring, and live racing returns in January 2027. The floor offers more than 2,000 VLTs.
Ohio racino revenue and where the money goes
The Ohio Lottery publishes revenue for each racino every month. In fiscal 2026 through May, statewide net win reached $1,343.8 million, with an average of roughly 10,100 terminals in play. Northfield Park alone accounted for $307.7 million of that. May 2026 delivered $139.3 million, about 6 percent more than a year earlier and the strongest month in two years.
Net win is divided in a fixed pattern. In May 2026 the racino operators kept $92.2 million as their commission and the Ohio Lottery retained $46.7 million, about one third, which flows into the lottery’s support for education. Each racino also passes half of one percent of its commission back for problem gambling services, worth $463,227 that month.
Horse racing takes its share from the operator’s side. Under Ohio Administrative Code 3769-2-43, between 9 and 11 percent of VLT income goes to breeding and racing, on a sliding scale tied to how much each facility invested, unless the track and its horsemen agree to more. That revenue is why Ohio purses rose sharply after 2012.
Racing calendar for Ohio racinos in 2026
Harness and thoroughbred meets are spread so that live cards run almost every week of the year. The summary below uses each track’s published 2026 schedule and the national Equibase race-date calendar. Post times and exact days shift during a meet, so the official condition book or track website is the final word before a trip.
- Northfield Park: harness racing year round, first post 6 p.m., four or five nights a week depending on the month.
- Miami Valley Gaming: harness, January into spring, 4 p.m. post Sunday to Thursday; next season January 2027.
- JACK Thistledown: thoroughbreds, April 20 to October 8, 2026.
- Belterra Park: thoroughbreds, May 1 to October 12, 2026; back in spring 2027.
- Scioto Downs: harness, May 7 to September 19, 2026, plus the Breeders Crown in October.
- Dayton Raceway: harness, September to December 2026.
- Mahoning Valley: thoroughbreds, January 2 to April 10 and October 19 to December 30, 2026.
All seven Ohio racinos also simulcast other North American races daily, so wagering on horses is possible at all seven even in the off months. The national horse racing schedule shows which racino tracks are live this week, and the pari-mutuel betting guide explains how the pools and takeout work before you place a first ticket.
Racinos in Ohio compared with Ohio casinos
Ohio voters approved four full casinos in 2009, one each in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo. Those properties deal live table games and run poker rooms under the Ohio Casino Control Commission. The racinos came afterwards through the lottery route, which is why they are limited to terminals and must stay attached to working racetracks.
For a visitor the practical difference is simple. If you want blackjack, craps or a poker tournament, head to one of the four Ohio casinos. If you want machines alongside live racing, a simulcast room and usually a calmer floor, the racinos fit. Several Ohio racinos sit within half an hour of a casino.
How Ohio racinos came about: 2009 to 2014
Terminals at the tracks were first proposed in 2009, but lawsuits and a political fight stalled the plan. Governor John Kasich’s administration revived it in 2011 with new rules and license fees, and Scioto Downs opened Ohio’s first racino on 1 June 2012. Thistledown followed in April 2013, then Miami Valley and Northfield Park that December.
The deal let three tracks relocate to less crowded markets. Raceway Park left Toledo for Dayton, Beulah Park’s license moved from Grove City to Austintown as Mahoning Valley, and Lebanon Raceway became Miami Valley Gaming. River Downs stayed put but was torn down and rebuilt as Belterra Park. Mahoning Valley, opened in September 2014, completed the set of seven.
Visiting: age rules, ID and responsible play
Bring a valid photo ID. Every racino requires guests to be 21 to play, and Miami Valley asks for ID at each entry between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. Wagering on races is legal from 18. Northfield Park admits no one under 21 to its racino building, though families can still watch the harness racing from the separate track grandstand.
Most of the seven are open around the clock, with free self-parking as the norm. Ohio offers a voluntary exclusion program called Time Out Ohio, and the state’s problem gambling helpline is 1-800-589-9966. Setting a spending limit before you arrive is the simplest way to keep a day at the races enjoyable.
Neighboring racino states
Ohio sits in the middle of the country’s densest racino region. Pennsylvania has six racetrack casinos, including The Meadows near Pittsburgh. West Virginia’s Mountaineer is less than an hour from Youngstown, Indiana runs two racinos near Indianapolis, and Kentucky relies on historical horse racing machines instead of lottery terminals. For the bigger picture, read what a racino is.