A total of 10 races kick off the 20th season of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing Tuesday at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
The card, which begins at 2:30 p.m., features nine Thoroughbred races capped off with one Quarter Horse race.
The racing program is showcased by a $38,000 allowance slated as the sixth race on the card. A full field of 12 will enter the gate for the five-furlong race with Flying Samurai and 2021 leading jockey Marcelino Pedroza Jr. leading the charge as the early morning line favorites. The five-year-old First Samurai gelding makes his 2022 debut from post 10 at odds of 3-1 from the Robert Dodds Jr. Stable.
“We were very pleased with the number of entries we had for opening day,” said Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing for the Shelbyville facility. “Our entire team has been working hard to prepare for this year’s meet under the new name of Horseshoe Indianapolis. We hope to build on the success we had last year, and we welcome several new faces to our team, which will only enhance our racing program.”
One of the new faces is the recognizable voice of track announcer John G. Dooley, who has provided the race calls for several hundred Grades Stakes over his career and is the current track announcer at Fair Grounds.
Brian Arrigoni also will add his unique racing analysis to the daily Thoroughbred program, specializing in multi-race wagers including the Pick 5, which is very popular with racing fans nationally due to the 11.99 percent takeout.
Both Dooley and Arrigoni will join longtime racing analyst Rachel McLaughlin and Quarter Horse racing analyst Martha Claussen for complete coverage of the racing season.
Arrigoni will be highlighted by “Pick the Ponies with Arrigoni,” a special handicapping contest for opening day. The contest will feature selections for the Pick 5 in races 5-9 with the top three handicappers sharing the $350 prize money. The contest is open to all players both on-track and online.
Four of the top five jockeys from 2021 are scheduled to ride on the opening day card. Pedroza Jr., DeShawn Parker, Sammy Bermudez and Joe Ramos, who finished first through fourth, respectively, in the standings will ride in Indiana this year. Randy Klopp, 2021 Leading Trainer, also is back and will saddle seven for the opening day card.
The 20th season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing begins Tuesday and extends through Nov. 23. Live racing is conducted at 2:30 p.m. Monday through Wednesday with Thursday post times set for 3:30 p.m.
A total of 12 Saturdays will feature live racing in 2022 highlighted by the 28th running of the Grade 3 $300,000 Indiana Derby on July 9.
