Columbus, OH --- Ocean Downs will reportedly offer only four days of racing this year -- Saturdays in August -- but not offer the balance of its 2010 live meet.
WBOC-TV is reporting that construction on the Ocean Downs racino, scheduled for completion later this year, has caused the cancellation. It had been reported earlier that the meet might be switched to the now-shuttered Rosecroft Raceway, but those plans have fallen through.
Ocean Downs COO William Fasey told the television station that there was no area that could accommodate racing patrons during construction.
"The track is not safe for that," Fasey was quoted as saying.
The report also said that Maryland-bred stakes would be raced, without wagering, on the final four Saturdays in August, for which spectators -- if any -- will be welcomed into the racetrack’s clubhouse.
"With Ocean Downs closed, losing 40 days (is) devastating," Ocean Downs horseman Jerry Knock told the station. "You're just sitting still with your horses. Nobody knows what to do with their horses."