Iowa Derby

The outside-drawn gelding whose change-of-plans entry made it a foursome in Saturday's GIII Dwyer S. at Aqueduct has quite a bit going for him despite being ranked as the longest shot at 4-1 on the morning line. The cleverly and elegantly named Save the Trees (by Preservationist out of the Forestry mare Canopy Lane) sports a 2-for-2 record, an adversity-overcoming, off-the-pace style, and a $335,000 auction price that was third-highest at Keeneland's Apr. 26 Horses of Racing Age (HORA) sale conducted after the final race of the spring meet. That's...

Beginning May 10 and continuing through Sept. 28, Prairie Meadows will feature 22 stakes totaling over $1.85 million. A total of 80 racing days will be highlighted by both Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing. The season begins with 20 days of Thoroughbred-only racing from May 10 - June 15 and continues with a mixed Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse schedule of 60 race days from June 16 - Sept. 28. "Overnight Thoroughbred purses have been increased approximately 5% across the board for the upcoming 2024 season," noted Quarter Horse Racing Secretary...

By Christie DeBernardis & Christina Bossinakis LEXINGTON, KY--There was plenty of buzz at Newtown Paddocks Monday with a lively day of trade for Fasig-Tipton's July Breeding Stock and Horses of Racing Age Sales. The popular Horses of Racing Age Sale was back for its ninth straight year and there was plenty of demand for promising or accomplished runners. Stakes winner Front Run the Fed (Fed Biz) topped the auction, selling to George Sharp for $440,000 off a third-place finish in the GIII Poker S. The second highest-priced horses was recent...

Prairie Meadows will host 84 days of live racing during its 2021 meet following approval by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission Thursday. Racing at the Altoona, IA oval will begin Friday, Apr. 30 with 26 days of Thoroughbreds only, followed by 58 days of mixed cards also featuring Quarter Horses until the conclusion of the meet on Sept. 25. Racing will be conducted on a Friday to Monday schedule, with first post times of 6:00 PM CDT on Fridays and Saturdays, and 4:00 PM CDT on Sundays and Mondays,...

The stewards at Prairie Meadows Monday disqualified the second-place finisher in the 2019 Iowa Derby. They ruled that a post-race positive test for the beta-blocker drug Atenolol was likely the result of "inadvertent exposure," yet because of mitigating factors that included the "extensive medication violation history" of trainer Steve Asmussen, the Hall-of-Fame conditioner would be fined $1,000. Atenolol slows the heart rate and decreases blood pressure when prescribed in humans for various cardiac ailments. The Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) lists it as a Class 3, Penalty B substance...