Horse racing at Sandy Downs set to start Saturday
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IDAHO FALLS — Sandy Downs, the home track of IdaRacing, is set to open its season Saturday with a Belmont Block Party, where racing fans can bet on the 148th running of the Belmont Stakes, the coveted third leg of the Triple Crown. The gates open at 11 a.m. with live racing beginning at noon.
Thirteen races are scheduled for the opener, the Idaho Quarter Horse Racing Association’s Premiere Bitterroot Futurity Trials, with an estimated 130 two-year-old quarter horses hauling in from all across the Intermountain West to Idaho Falls for a chance to place in the top 10 for the finals of an estimated $150,000 in purse money June 25 at Sandy Downs.
Due to the number of horses being brought in, jockeys are encouraged to book rooms early. Quinta Inns & Suites is a sponsor of IdaRacing and is offering discounted rooms (subject to availability) with the promo code IDARS1. Also, the nomination and first payment deadline for the Hawthorne/Idaho Cup Futurity is June 15. Jockeys, track officials and staff are being asked to get licensed early on Friday, June 10, by the Idaho State Racing Commission beginning at 2 p.m. at Sandy Downs, near the grandstands.
Entries will take place Tuesday, beginning at 7 a.m. with the draw happening around 1 p.m. under the grandstands.
Saturday’s event will feature the popular Indian Relay Racing, live music and fun for the whole family with the Colt Whitmore Show between races. There are fun bounces and water works for the kids, many giveaways, free betting vouchers, free kids’ hotdogs (while supplies last) as well as good eats and ice cold beverages at the daylong trackside party.
Fans are reminded to come early and bet early to avoid being shut out at the windows. Post times listed are when the horses actually leave the starting gate beginning with the first race.
The 2016 live racing schedule at Sandy Downs will be as follows:
- June 11, noon
- June 25, 5 p.m.
- Aug. 27, 5 p.m.
- Aug. 28, 1 p.m.
- Sept. 11, 1 p.m.
Sandy Downs is on East 65th (St. Clair Road) south of Idaho Falls.
Corporate sponsors this year include Sand Hill Media, Bingham Memorial Hospital, Hawthorne Animal Hospital, TEC Distributing & Coors Light, The Dakri Bernard Realty Group, LaQunita Inns & Suites and IdaBet.com. You can find a complete listing of all sponsors at IdaRacing.com.
For further information, see IdaRacing.com or call (208) 745-8433. If you can’t make it to the track, watch the races from the comfort of your own home and wager online with IdaBet.com or by phone toll-free at (877) 782-9994. The service is available in all states where online betting is permitted.