by Ed DeRosa

Erie, Pennsylvania, will showcase several firsts on Saturday, as the first-ever meet at Presque Isle Downs will begin with the first-ever races run on trainer Michael Dickinson’s Tapeta Footings synthetic surface.

The inaugural eight-race card attracted 78 entries for an average of 9.75 entries per race. The $100,000 Inaugural Stakes will begin the meet at 5:30 p.m. EDT, and the six-furlong race attracted ten three-year-old fillies.

The only full field on the card is the second race, a maiden special weight race for two-year-old fillies that has 12 entries plus one also-eligible entrant. Six of the races include at least nine entries.

“Everybody is excited,” said Ted Arneault, chief executive of MTR Gaming Group Inc., which owns Presque Isle as well as Mountaineer Race Track in Chester, West Virginia. “This is a project that began almost five years ago—to see it coming to fruition has everybody excited.”

Top jockeys listed to ride on the inaugural card include Corey Lanerie, Eddie Martin Jr., Miguel Mena, and Mario Pino.

Horses are racing for $332,000 in listed purses, but because of the racino’s slot machine revenue, purses will receive an extra 75% boost to make the opening night card worth $581,000. The aforementioned maiden race is worth $70,000 while an allowance race later on the card will go for $87,500.

Ed DeRosa is news editor of Thoroughbred Times