once quoted, 'This is the best turf course I've ever ridden on,' after he rode Highland Crystal to victory in the Budweiser Breeders' Cup there. The infield grass course has drawn rave reviews from horsemen across the country. The 7-furlong turf course was created in 1956, making River Downs the 13th track in America with a grass racing strip. The track managed to survive the disastrous Cincinnati flood of 1937 and re-opened under the name of 'River Downs.' Races were and still are held primarily in summer. On October 3, 1936, he ran third in the Western Hills Handicap and two weeks later he ran third in the Eastern Hills Handicap. His trainer 'Silent Tom' Smith shipped the horse in from Detroit with jockey Red Pollard for two consecutive starts.
The famous horse Seabiscuit made two appearances at the track in 1936. The race track sits right along the banks of the Ohio River, adjacent to the Coney Island water park and Riverbend Music Center.
It was opened 15 years after the closing of a previous track in Cincinnati, Old Oakley Race Course. River Downs opened in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1925 as the Coney Island Race Track. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Boyd Gaming. Racetrack and Casino in Cincinnati, Ohio Belterra Park Gaming & Entertainment Centerīelterra Park, formerly known as River Downs, is a racino located in Anderson Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, just outside the southeast limits of Cincinnati.
