Iowa Festival of Racing and Jackpot Pick 5 Make for a Spectacular Holiday Weekend at Prairie Meadows
July 1, 2021 – Altoona, IA. Prairie Meadows’ Iowa Festival of Racing kicks off at 6 p.m. CDT, Friday, July 2 with great expectations as Knicks Go competes in the Cornhusker Handicap. Knicks Go is an even-money morning line favorite in this Grade III race for three-year-olds and up with a purse totaling $300,000.
Knicks Go arrived in Iowa on Wednesday and is one of five Brad Cox trained horses traveling to Prairie Meadows to compete in the Festival of Racing. Knicks Go will be making his 21st career start in the Cornhusker with his regular jockey, Joel Rosario, at the reins. He’s hoping to snap a two-race losing streak and come away with a 7th lifetime victory at Prairie Meadows and add to his lifetime earnings of $4,653,995.
The lineup for Friday night’s 1-1/8 mile Cornhusker Handicap includes favorite Knicks Go, plus Drifting West, Dinar, Tenfold, Last Judgment, Rated R Superstar, and Modernist. The nine-race card for Friday also includes two other stakes races. The 1-1/16 mile, $250,000 Iowa Derby (Listed) and the 1-1/16 mile, Grade III, $225,000 Iowa Oaks.
All three Iowa Festival of Racing stakes races are part of the Jackpot Pick 5 sequence on Friday’s card, with a carryover of $254,979 going into the wager. The jackpot will be paid out if there is a unique winning ticket selecting all five winners in the wagering sequence, otherwise Prairie Meadows will offer a mandatory payout on Monday, July 5. “We believe a mandatory payout of Jackpot Pick 5 is the perfect way to end the holiday weekend,” said Prairie Meadows Assistant Director of Pari-Mutuels Garrick Mallory. “Our Monday cards always draw quite a bit of simulcast wagering, so we expect a mandatory payout will generate a significant amount of new money wagered into the pool.”
Festival of Racing continues Saturday, July 3 with three more stakes races. Saturday’s 10-race card includes the 1-1/16 mile $100,000 Iowa Distaff (Black Type), the six furlong $100,000 Iowa Sprint (Black Type), and the six furlong $100,000 Saylorville (Black Type). Post time for Saturday is 4 p.m. CDT.
About Prairie Meadows
Prairie Meadows began operations as a nonprofit organization in 1989 with the goal of promoting economic development, jobs, agriculture, and tourism in the state of Iowa. Through taxes, grants, and charitable donations, Prairie Meadows has given $1.9 billion to the state of Iowa. Prairie Meadows offers slot machines, table games, live and simulcast racing, sports wagering, hotel accommodations, entertainment, and more.
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