Prairie Meadows Announces Purse Increases for 2022
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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 2022 Stakes Schedule | ||||||
| Date | Purse | Race | Grade | Conditions | Distance | Surface |
| May 13 | $50,000 | Goldfinch | 3YO F | 6 F | Dirt | |
| May 21 | $50,000 | Golden Circle | 3YO | 6 F | Dirt | |
| June 3 | $65,000 | Bob Bryant | 3YO F (IA-Bred) | 6 F | Dirt | |
| June 4 | $65,000 | Gray's Lake | 3YO C&G (IA-Bred) | 6 F | Dirt | |
| June 10 | $50,000 | Prairie Rose | 3&UP F&M | 6 F | Dirt | |
| June 10 | $50,000 | Ed Skinner | 3&UP | 6 F | Dirt | |
| June 10 | $50,000 | Jack Bishop | 3&UP F&M | 1 1/16 M | Dirt | |
| June 11 | $50,000 | Prairie Mile | 3YO | 1 M | Dirt | |
| June 11 | $50,000 | Panthers | 3YO F | 1 M | Dirt | |
| June 11 | $50,000 | Jim Rasmussen | 3&UP | 1 1/16 M | Dirt | |
| June 24 | $65,000 | Mamie Eisenhower | 3&UP F&M (IA-Bred) | 6 F | Dirt | |
| June 25 | $65,000 | John Wayne | 3&UP C&G (IA-Bred) | 6 F | Dirt | |
| July 8 | $100,000 | Prairie Gold Lassie | 2YO F | 5 1/2 F | Dirt | |
| July 8 | $100,000 | Saylorville | 3&UP F&M | 6 F | Dirt | |
| July 8 | $100,000 | Iowa Sprint | 3&UP | 6 F | Dirt | |
| July 8 | $100,000 | Iowa Distaff | 3&UP F&M | 1 1/16 M | Dirt | |
| July 9 | $100,000 | Prairie Gold Juvenile | 2YO | 5 1/2 F | Dirt | |
| July 9 | $250,000 | Iowa Derby | 3YO | 1 1/16 M | Dirt | |
| July 9 | $225,000 | Iowa Oaks | 3 | 3YO F | 1 1/16 M | Dirt |
| July 9 | $300,000 | Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap | 3 | 3&UP | 1 1/8 M | Dirt |
| July 22 | $70,000 | Iowa Stallion Filly | 3YO F | 1 M & 70 Y | Dirt | |
| July 23 | $70,000 | Iowa Stallion | 3YO (R) | 1 M & 70 Y | Dirt | |
| July 30 | $70,000 | Iowa Stallion Futurity | 2YO (R) | 5 1/2 F | Dirt | |
| Aug. 12 | $75,000 | Hawkeyes Handicap | 3&UP F&M (IA-Bred) | 1 1/16 M | Dirt | |
| Aug. 13 | $75,000 | Cyclones Handicap | 3&UP C&G (IA-Bred) | 1 1/16 M | Dirt | |
| Aug. 26 | $100,000 | Prairie Meadows Debutante | 2YO F | 6 F | Dirt | |
| Aug. 27 | $100,000 | Prairie Meadows Freshman | 2YO | 6 F | Dirt | |
| Oct. 1 | $100,000 | Iowa Sorority | 2YO F (IA-Bred) | 6 F | Dirt | |
| Oct. 1 | $100,000 | Iowa Cradle | 2YO C&G (IA-Bred) | 6 F | Dirt | |
| Oct. 1 | $100,000 | Iowa Breeders' Oaks | 3YO F (IA-Bred) | 1 M & 70 Y | Dirt | |
| Oct. 1 | $100,000 | Iowa Breeders' Derby | 3YO C&G (IA-Bred) | 1 1/16 M | Dirt | |
| Oct. 1 | $100,000 | Donna Reed | 4&UP F&M (IA-Bred) | 1 M & 70 Y | Dirt | |
| Oct. 1 | $100,000 | Governor Terry E. Branstad | 4&UP C&G (IA-Bred) | 1 1/16 M | Dirt | |
| Oct. 1 | $100,000 | Dan Johnson Sprint | 3&UP (IA-Bred) | 6 F | Dirt | |