Thistledown opens 100th-anniversary season Monday

About to celebrate its 100th anniversary, Thistledown opens its 2025 season Monday afternoon with an eight-race card that marks the first of 104 dates that run through Oct. 9.

Fifty-eight horses were entered for the program that begins at 12:50 p.m. EDT.

Click here for Thistledown entries and results.

The Grade 3, $500,000 Ohio Derby on June 21 is the biggest of 16 stakes on this year’s Thistledown calendar. The $250,000 Lady Jacqueline for fillies and mares also is on the card that day. The other 14 stakes are for state-bred horses with five Best of Ohio races worth $100,000 each on Aug. 14.

The track at North Randall, Ohio, in suburban Cleveland will host live racing four days a week, mostly Monday-Thursday. In addition to Ohio Derby day, the Thursday cards will be bumped to Saturday on the three Triple Crown dates May 3, May 17 and June 7.

Thistledown has operated off and on since it first was opened July 20, 1925. Jack Entertainment runs the track in a leaseback deal with Vici Properties, which became the owner in 2020.