Prairie Meadows had its largest betting day in three years when its June 25 program featuring the Prairie Meadow Cornhusker Handicap (gr. III) and Iowa Derby (gr. III) drew $1,216,294 in wagering. The card was part of the track’s two-day Iowa Festival of Racing.
The 10-race program handled a season-high $176,145 in ontrack betting and $1,040,149 in wagering from simulcast outlets nationwide. That was the most wagered on a Prairie Meadows racing program since $1,239,476 was bet June 30, 2008.
It was also the second-largest betting total ever for a Saturday program at Prairie Meadows, behind the $1,322,491 wagered on the July 4, 1998 Cornhusker program that had 13 races.
The Cornhusker was won by Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Headache and the Iowa Derby was taken by Zayat Stables' Prayer for Relief.
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