Prairie Meadows: Wild Jacob wins Prairie Mile marred by spill

Saturday evening's $60,000 Prairie Mile Stakes, for 3-year-olds prepping for the Grade 3 Iowa Derby on June 25, was marred by a tragic accident between the three-sixteenths and furlong markers.

Arcadian, winner of the Golden Circle at Prairie Meadows on April 23 for owner-breeder Pete Gallegos, suffered a fatal injury while battling for the lead, causing a chain reaction where Grant Jack, Hot Faucet, and It's My Party fell over him.

Avoiding the trouble to his inside, eventual winner Wild Jacob, trained by Doug Anderson for Stanley C. Mankin, staged a six-wide rally and ran by Fairing, who had assumed command after the spill, to win by a half-length.

Jockey Miguel Mena, who was aboard the Bret Calhoun-trained Grant Jack, was taken to Mercy Hospital in nearby Des Moines with bruised ribs. The three other riders who fell – Glenn Corbett, who was aboard Arcadian, Joel Campbell, and Israel Ocampo – suffered just minor injuries and eventually walked off the track.

The three other horses involved in the spill – Grant Jack, Hot Faucet, and It's My Part – were not seriously injured.

Wild Jacob ($15.60), a 3-year-old gelded son of Eurosilver, ran the mile in 1:37.88 and earned $36,000 for his connections.

* Earlier in the evening, Fast Tip, trained by Calhoun and ridden by Mena, pulled away strongly to win by 4 3/4 lengths from the Donnie K. Von Hemel trainee Hearts on Fire in the $60,000 Panthers Stakes, a one-mile race for 3-year-old fillies eyeing the Grade 3 Iowa Oaks on June 25.

Fast Tip ($6.80), a daughter of Najran, covered the distance in 1:37.40, earning $36,000 for Enrique Llorado’s Luxair Properties Inc.