A total of 38 Thoroughbred stakes races offering more than $4.6 million in purses will be featured during the 2022 racing season at Horseshoe Indianapolis. The 20th year of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse action gets underway Tuesday, April 19 highlighted by the 28th running of the Grade 3 Indiana Derby Saturday, July 9.
The $300,000-guaranteed Indiana Derby, Indiana’s richest race, will be joined by seven other stakes on the Saturday, July 9 racing program, including the Grade 3 $200,000-guaranteed Indiana Oaks. A total of $1.1 million in stakes purses will be showcased on the late afternoon card.
“The past two years, we have held the Indiana Derby on Wednesdays which has appealed to our national audience and as a result, we set two consecutive track records for handle,” said Eric Halstrom, vice president and general manager of racing. “By moving the event back to a Saturday, we hope it will provide a balance with our national followers along with our on-track customers who have historically packed our venue for the event. The Indiana Derby has a great appeal to spectators and has been tagged as one of the biggest summer sporting events in Central Indiana.”
Horseshoe Indianapolis will also feature the third Indiana Champions Day Saturday, Oct. 29. The event will showcase 10 stakes combined by Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing. Included on the program will be the $250,000 Unreachable Star Stakes and the $250,000 Lady Fog Horn Stakes for Indiana sired horses.
Indiana sired and bred horses will also get a boost with elevated purses in the $250,000 Governor’s Stakes and the $200,000 Indiana First Lady Stakes. The races are slated for Wednesday, Aug. 3.
“The Indiana Thoroughbred program has boosted several of their races this season with more purse money,” said Chris Polzin, director of racing. “We have switched a few of the stakes around to spread them out during our 127-day racing season. This should better accommodate our horsemen and our retail simulcasting signal, and I believe we have a good balance of stakes from start to finish for our 2022 racing season.”
Indiana’s richest turf races, the $150,000 Caesars Stakes (Listed) and the $150,000 Horseshoe Indianapolis Stakes, will kick off the stakes season Wednesday, May 18. They join two other stakes with purses in excess of $500,000 during the afternoon card.
