Quarter Horse Championships on Friday, Sept. 27; Iowa Classic on Saturday, Sept. 28.

© Coady Photography

ALTOONA, IA—SEPTEMBER 25, 2024—The 2024 live horse racing season at Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Altoona, IA, will conclude with two stakes-rich cards on Friday, September 27, and Saturday, September 28.

The closing weekend will be highlighted by an Iowa Classic Night program featuring four Quarter Horse stakes races and eight Thoroughbred stakes races on a thirteen-race program that starts at 4 PM CT on Saturday, September 28.

The all-Iowa-bred Thoroughbred stakes action kicks off Saturday with the 31st running of the $110,000 Donna Reed for fillies and mares, carded as the sixth race of the night and scheduled for a 6:07 PM CT start.

Two multiple winners at the meet will have opportunities to become five-time winners this season on Iowa Classic Night.

In the $110,000 Dan Johnson Sprint, the four-year-old gelding Wearacap will face five foes as he attempts to win for the fifth time in six races this season under Prairie Meadows Hall of Fame jockey Glenn Corbett.

In the $110,000 Governor Terry E. Branstad, the four-year-old gelding Seventeen Black, with leading rider Alex Birzer named to ride, will try for his fifth consecutive victory at Prairie Meadows after shipping in from California earlier this season.

Seventeen Black faces a talented set of six challengers, including multiple stakes winner and 2022 Iowa Derby hero Ain’t Life Grand, whose career earnings are just short of $800,000.

Saturday’s card opens with four talent-loaded Iowa-bred Quarter Horse stakes races, highlighted by the $126,740 Polk County Derby and the $163,460 Jim Bader Futurity.

One day earlier, on Friday, September 27, a ten-race card starting at 6 PM CT will be topped by four Quarter Horse Championship stakes, including the $111,560 Altoona Derby for three-year-old qualifiers, the $253,150 Valley Junction Futurity (GIII) (see related story) for two-year-old qualifiers and the $50,000 Two Rivers (GIII) for highly regarded aged runners going 400 yards.

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About Prairie Meadows
Prairie Meadows began operations as a nonprofit organization in 1989 to promote economic development, jobs, agriculture, and tourism in Iowa. Prairie Meadows has given $2.2 billion to the state of Iowa through taxes, grants, and charitable donations. Prairie Meadows offers slot machines, table games, live and simulcast racing, sports wagering, hotel accommodations, entertainment, and more.