43-day mixed meet begins Friday

Prairie Meadows begins its Thoroughbred-Quarter Horse mixed meet Friday night. Four Quarter Horse races will be added to the end of each race card.

Prairie Meadows had a daily purse distribution of approximately $222,000 during its Thoroughbred meet but the mixed meet purses will average $141,000 a day with $77,000 of that number paid out on the six daily Thoroughbred races.

Leading rider Terry Thompson plans on riding the mixed meet, as do Glenn Corbet, Tim Doocy, and Alex Birzer, who all finished in the top five of the standings at the Thoroughbred meet.

The highlight of the 43-day meet will be the annual Iowa Classic Night, which will be run Aug. 23. More than $720,000 will be distributed on Classic Night, which is restricted to Iowa-breds.