Opening day set for Saturday in Grants Pass; Sunday’s 10-race card features six Firecracker Futurity Trials

Horse racing enthusiasts in Southern Oregon won’t have to wait much longer for live action at Grants Pass Downs, with the eight-day summer racing meet set to begin Saturday and kick into high gear Sunday with the Firecracker Futurity Trials.

Post time is 1 p.m. for each Saturday and Sunday through the rest of June, with a finishing push on July 4 and 5 at the Josephine County Fairgrounds facility to round out a season presented by the Southern Oregon Horse Racing Association.

Saturday’s eight-race opening day will provide a good appetizer for Sunday’s marquee racing, which will pick up with the first of six 300-yard Futurity Trials quarter horse races in the third event of the day. There are 10 races overall Sunday afternoon.

The Firecracker Futurity will be the featured race on July 4, with an overall purse eclipsing $60,000.

Admission at Grants Pass Downs, which has hosted pari-mutuel racing since 1968, is $5 for adults and free for kids 12 and under.

As a special promotion, Sunday’s admission is free for all dads to celebrate Father’s Day.

Other promotional free admission events during the summer meet include for fans 60 and older June 21 on Senior Citizens Day; for women wearing a hat (baseball caps excluded) June 22 on Ladies Hat Day; for fans who donate two non-expired cans of food June 28 on Josephine County Food Bank Day; and for current and former members of the Armed Forces June 29 on Military Appreciation Day

For more information on SOHRA or Grants Pass Downs, go to racingontherogue.org