When grade I winner Paddy O'Prado is honored at Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino Aug. 5, the 4-year-old son of El Prado will be in Kentucky and not at the Iowa racetrack.
According to an announcement from the track, the guest of honor will be unable to attend his own "Paddy O'Prado Day" party due to insurance complications. Paddy O’Prado was retired May 23 with a leg injury two days after winning the Dixie Stakes (gr. IIT) at Pimlico Race Course in his season debut. He is now at Spendthrift Farm near Lexington, where he will begin stud duty in 2012.
“While we are disappointed that Paddy O’Prado cannot be here, we are excited to celebrate his accomplishments and what he has meant to the race fans in Iowa,” said Jeff Nelson, Prairie Meadows’ marketing director. “We have put together some exciting clips from his races and are looking forward to a great night.”
Paddy O’Prado, whose group of 11 owners included 10 from Iowa who raced under the name of Jerry Crawford’s Donegal Racing, won five graded stakes and earned $1,721,297.
Although Prairie Meadows’ plan to have the colt paraded in the paddock and on the track Aug. 5 will not transpire, the track still plans to honor the horse by giving away 1,000 11-by-17-inch posters of Paddy O’Prado.
Paddy O' Prado
