Hit Show will attempt to start building some credentials as an older horse Saturday night when he meets millionaire Red Route One and local hero Ain’t Life Grand in the Grade 3, $300,000 Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows. The 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up is the centerpiece of the $1.2 million Iowa Festival of Racing. The festival was to begin Friday night and conclude Saturday with four stakes, including the $250,000 Iowa Derby. Red Route One is the 120-pound highweight in a Cornhusker field of 11 that includes Heroic Move, weighted at 119 off his win in the Grade 3 Steve Sexton Mile at Lone Star Park, and Velocitor, the 2023 Prince of Wales winner weighted at 118. Trademark, who captured the Grade 2 Clark in November, will be scratched, according to reporting by Daily Racing Form’s Marcus Hersh. Hit Show, weighted at 119, was a top 3-year-old last year. He won the Grade 3 Withers before going on to finish second in the Wood Memorial, fifth in the Kentucky Derby, and fourth in the Belmont Stakes. Hit Show launched his 4-year-old campaign on May 11 at Churchill Downs by winning a third-level allowance with a Beyer Speed Figure of 95 – the best last-race number in the Cornhusker. “I love the way he’s doing,” trainer Brad Cox said. “I really liked how he trained leading up to his [season] debut. It was a mile and an eighth off the layoff, and he received some really nice figures off that race.” :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Hit Show has since turned in a series of powerful five-eighths works. “I thought it was worth giving him plenty of time,” Cox said. “I’m hoping this is a stepping-stone to bigger and better things as the year goes on, but I love how he’s come back as a 4-year-old.” Hit Show is a son of Candy Ride and the Grade 2-winning mare Actress. He races for his breeders, Gary and Mary West, and will break from post 6 under Florent Geroux. Escapologist is another 4-year-old looking to establish himself in the handicap ranks. He last raced March 30, winning a second-level allowance at 1 1/16 miles at Oaklawn Park with a 93 Beyer. “He deserves a shot at a stakes,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “He always runs well and I don’t think he’s had too many opportunities to win a stakes, and we’d like to give him that chance.” Escapologist will break from post 2 for Walking L Thoroughbreds. Julien Leparoux has the mount on the horse who figures to be making his case in the later stages. “He fought to the finish last time – that’s what he does,” McPeek said. “He grinds it out and he runs hard. I think the mile and an eighth, the little bit longer the better. So here we are.” Red Route One also does his best running late and has used his closing kick to compile career earnings of $1.6 million for his breeder and owner, Winchell Thoroughbreds. He is moving back to the distance of his last win, the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic in March. Last out, Red Route One was fourth in the Grade 3 Pimlico Special, a race from which runner-up Kingsbarns came back to win the Grade 1 Stephen Foster. Cristian Torres has the mount from post 5 for trainer Steve Asmussen. Ain’t Life Grand is a past winner of the Iowa Derby who was third in last year’s Cornhusker won by Giant Game. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.