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Prairie Meadows Track Records

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Altoona, IA --- On Saturday evening, on what could arguably be described as the most thrilling night of Standardbred racing on Prairie Meadows soil, a trotter and pacer earned the historic distinction of shattering, by two full seconds, two track records on one night's race card.

The races were named in memory of two of the track's founding fathers, Junie Manatt a successful businessman and Standardbred owner that campaigned horses throughout the Midwest, and Keith Hopkins, the longest-serving board member at Prairie Meadows, who was also the organization's interim general manager from 1991 to 93. Each event was worth $20,000.

"I couldn't be happier," remarked Prairie Meadows harness racing secretary Ken Miller following the races. "Our goal was to attract the kind of horses capable of breaking both track records; but to actually do so tonight was truly beyond my expectations."

"Our barn area this year is head and shoulders above what we've had in the last two years," Miller added. "I am especially pleased that Park Place, a locally-based horse, got up for the win in the Keith Hopkins race. Park Place has been at Prairie Meadows the entire meet. Guy Calvert told me that he brought this horse back to training after a three-year layoff with his eye on the Keith Hopkins race.

"He said that all year he purposely ducked away from Black Cat Bone, a kingpin on the Illinois circuit, because he knew he would eventually meet up with him in the Keith Hopkins race. Guy Calvert has been a big supporter of the Prairie Meadows program and I think this speaks volumes about how good harness racing could be here at Prairie Meadows."

The finishing times were so swift in these races that a total of 13 horses in both races finished with a faster mark than the previously established track records. The top six trotters in the Junie Manatt Stakes bettered the previous track record of 1:592, including the fourth place finisher Bingham, who set the mark last year. The seven-fastest pacers in the Keith Hopkins Memorial bettered the new track record of 1:542 that was set only about a week ago by Speak, who was Saturday night's sixth place finisher.

Park Place, trained by Guy Calvert for owner Peter Spaeth, was a brilliant athlete in inscribing the new Prairie Meadows pacing record for the mile. The bay horse by Artsplace out of the broodmare Deneen's Delight (by Most Happy Fella) distanced himself from the field by nearly four lengths for his ninth win in 13 starts.