Altoona, Iowa is home to Prairie Meadows, a Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racetrack casino. In 1984, after pari-mutuel betting was legalized by the state, Prairie Meadows received a license from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to operate a racing facility. It formally began construction in 1987.

Prairie Meadows held a race for the first time in 1989. The venue went on to lose money and file for bankruptcy in just a few years after having opened its gates, around 1991. Off-track betting saved the day and allowed racing to resume in 1992, after having been suspended for the 1992 season.

Two years later, the voters of Polk County saw a referendum through which approved slot machines at the venue, and by 1995, a slots casino had opened up at Prairie Meadows. One year later, those same slots had helped Prairie Meadows pay off the bonds issued by the Board of Supervisors at Polk County.

After the slots came casino game tables in 2004, again after state approval; their high demand made the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission approve expansion plans for the facility. The expansion started in 2005 and resulted in an addition to make the casino larger, plus 2 new restaurants, and a 1,200-seat concert hall in 2007. Prairie Meadows is owned by the county and operated by a non-profit board of directors, which means its revenues are earmarked for various community projects in the Des Moines area.

Prairie Meadows has a one-mile dirt track, plus a chute for quarter horses. The casino is on-site and offers multiple slot machines plus casino game tables with poker, roulette, and blackjack. The venue has also hosted free concerts by nationals.

Prairie Meadows holds plenty of stakes and handicaps from April to October and runs three graded stakes during the Thoroughbred season. These include Grade III Cornhusker Handicap, Grade III Iowa Oaks, and the Grade III Iowa Derby, to name a few. Even ostriches have raced at the Prairie Meadows facilities.

BETMANIA players can find Prairie Meadows Betting Odds on competing horses, as well as the typical horse bet types such as Win/Place/Show, Exactas, Trifectas, Superfectas and many more. Visit our racebook to learn more about the available bet options and other popular race tracks.

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Prairie Meadows Racetrack Facts:

Racecourse type: American Thoroughbred & Quarter Horse racetrack (dirt)

Location: Altoona, Iowa

Purse: N/A

Venue Capacity: N/A

Track length: one-mile oval track.

Important track records: N/A