Iowa horsemen are turning their focus to strengthening the county fair circuit following an Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission meeting last Thursday
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An article on desmoinesregister.com has reported that harness racing could be phased out at Prairie Meadows following its 2011 season. The racetrack and casino, with slots and table games, has sought to give the standardbreds the boot in previous years due to declining attendance and wagering.
A 2011 agreement has been made in which Prairie Meadows will host a 10-day harness racing meet featuring $550,000 in purses, which will run from Oct. 7 to 22. The meet follows a 67-day thoroughbred meet and a 26-day quarter horse meet.
With Prairie Meadows contributing $900,000 as a charitable donation for county fair races during the spring and summer, both sides have discussed fair-only racing for standardbreds but have been unable to reach an agreement.
“That is the future,” Toni Urban, chair of the IRGC, was quoted as saying in the desmoinesregister.com article. “This is the second year in a row that Prairie Meadows has come to us and said they do not want to have a harness meet. The harness people come to us for support, but the handwriting is on the wall.
“I think the future is in negotiating with Prairie Meadows to either work out some amount [for the county fair races] or going to the Legislature and get a change in the purse [law] so a portion of purse money would go with the standardbreds."
To read the desmoinesregister.com article in its entirety, click here.
(With files from desmoinesregister.com)