Prairie Meadows Announces Dual Breed Purse Increases
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Photo: Coady Photography
Knicks Go wins the 2021 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows
With a record-breaking year for casino play in 2021, purses for both Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses for the upcoming 2022 live racing season at Prairie Meadows will see increases across the board.
The upcoming 84-day live racing season begins with 22 days of Thoroughbred-only racing May 13-June 18 with an additional two days of Thoroughbred-only racing on Sept. 29 and Oct. 2. A 60-day mixed Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse schedule will take place June 19- Oct. 1.
Live racing will be offered Fridays-Mondays, with post times set for 6:00 p.m. CT on Fridays and Saturdays, and 4:00 p.m. on Sundays and Mondays. Post times may change for special race days, events, and holidays.
The Thoroughbred purse structure will see an increase of nearly 5% across the board. The bottom-level purse will be at $10,500 for maiden $5,000 claimers or beaten-claiming $3,500 runners. The top-level purses will range from $32,000 for maiden special weights to $37,500 for no conditioned allowance races.
The Thoroughbred stakes schedule will feature 26 stakes worth an estimated $2 million and will be highlighted by the Iowa Festival of Racing July 9-10 and the Iowa Classic Oct. 1. Eight overnight allowance stakes worth $50,000 each will be scheduled early in the season mainly as local prep races for the Festival in early July. The Festival will be enhanced this season with two additional stakes added for 2-year-olds worth $100,000 each, the Prairie Gold Lassie and the Prairie Gold Juvenile, both at 5 1/2 furlongs. The main event of the Festival remains the $300,000 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (G3), won in 2021 by Knicks Go .
Two new $100,000 stakes will be added for late August for 2-year-olds, the Prairie Meadows Debutante and the Prairie Meadows Freshman going six furlongs. The Iowa Classic for Iowa-bred runners will now feature all seven stakes worth $100,000 each.
| Prairie Meadows Thoroughbred Stakes Schedule | |||||
| Date | Purse | Stake | Grade | Conditions | Distance |
| May 13 | $50,000 | Goldfinch | 3YOf | 6 F | |
| May 21 | $50,000 | Golden Circle | 3YO | 6 F | |
| Jun 3 | $65,000 | Bob Bryant | 3YOf (IA Bred) | 6 F | |
| Jun 4 | $65,000 | Gray's Lake | C&G, 3YO (IA Bred) | 6 F | |
| Jun 10 | $50,000 | Jack Bishop | F&M, 3YO+ | 1 1/16 M | |
| Jun 10 | $50,000 | Prairie Rose | F&M, 3YO+ | 6 F | |
| Jun 10 | $50,000 | Ed Skinner | 3YO+ | 6 F | |
| Jun 11 | $50,000 | Jim Rasmussen | 3YO+ | 1 1/16 M | |
| Jun 11 | $50,000 | Panthers | 3YOf | 1 M | |
| Jun 11 | $50,000 | Prairie Mile | 3YO | 1 M | |
| Jun 24 | $65,000 | Mamie Eisenhower | F&M, 3YO+ (IA Bred) | 6 F | |
| Jun 25 | $65,000 | John Wayne | C&G, 3YO+ (IA Bred) | 6 F | |
| Jul 8 | $100,000 | Iowa Distaff | F&M, 3YO+ | 1 1/16 M | |
| Jul 8 | $100,000 | Prairie Gold Lassie | 2YOF | 5 1/2 F | |
| Jul 8 | $100,000 | Saylorville | F&M, 3YO+ | 6 F | |
| Jul 8 | $100,000 | Iowa Sprint | 3YO+ | 6 F | |
| Jul 9 | $225,000 | Iowa Oaks | 3 | 3YOf | 1 1/16 M |
| Jul 9 | $250,000 | Iowa Derby | 3YO | 1 1/16 M | |
| Jul 9 | $300,000 | Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap | 3 | 3YO+ | 1 1/8 M |
| Jul 9 | $100,000 | Prairie Gold Juvenile | 2YO | 5 1/2 F | |
| Jul 22 | $70,000 | Iowa Stallion Filly Stakes | 3yof (Iowa Sired) | 1M 70 Y | |
| Jul 23 | $70,000 | Iowa Stallion Stakes | 3YO (Iowa Sired) | 1M 70 Y | |
| Jul 30 | $70,000 | Iowa Stallion Futurity | 2YO (Iowa Sired) | 5 1/2 F | |
| Aug 12 | $75,000 | Hawkeyes Handicap | F&M, 3YO+ (IA Bred) | 1 1/16 M | |
| Aug 13 | $75,000 | Cyclones Handicap | C&G, 3YO+ (IA Bred) | 1 1/16 M | |
| Aug 26 | $100,000 | Prairie Meadows Debutante | 2YOF | 6 F | |
| Aug 27 | $100,000 | Prairie Meadows Freshman | 2YO | 6 F | |
| Oct 1 | $100,000 | Governor Terry E. Branstad | C&G, 4YO+ (IA Bred) | 1 1/16 M | |
| Oct 1 | $100,000 | Iowa Breeders' Derby | C&G, 3YO (IA Bred) | 1 1/16 M | |
| Oct 1 | $100,000 | Iowa Breeders' Oaks | 3YOf (IA Bred) | 1M 70 Y | |
| Oct 1 | $100,000 | Donna Reed | F&M, 4YO+ (IA Bred) | 1M 70 Y | |
| Oct 1 | $100,000 | Iowa Sorority | 3YOf (IA Bred) | 6 F | |
| Oct 1 | $100,000 | Iowa Cradle | C&G, 2YO (IA Bred) | 6 F | |
| Oct 1 | $100,000 | Dan Johnson Sprint | 3YO+ (IA Bred) | 6 F | |
The Quarter Horse purse structure will also see significant increases across the board with a 20-25% jump in overnight purses for 2022. The bottom-level purse at $9,000 for maiden $7,500 to $5,000 races and the top-level purses ranging from $13,500 for maiden special weight to $17,000 for no conditioned allowance races.
The Quarter Horse stakes schedule will offer 23 races worth an estimated $1.6 million and continue to feature a strong Futurity and Derby schedule for both open and Iowa bred runners, the Bank of America/Prairie Meadows Regional Challenge qualifiers in August, and finishing the season with Quarter Horse Championship Night Sept. 30 with the finals of the Valley Junction Futurity (G3) and Altoona Derby along with the Two Rivers (G3) for older 440-yard campaigners and Iowa Classic Oct. 1, featuring an all Iowa-bred stakes card highlighted by the Jim Bader Futurity and Polk County Derby.