Horseshoe Indy Maintains Status Quo of 23 dates for ’26

[Wandering Eyes]

Horseshoe Indianapolis in 2026 will stick with the same dates template that has largely been in place since 2023: A mixed-meet racing schedule of 123 dates from Apr. 7 to Nov. 13, with 117 Thoroughbred programs and six for Quarter Horses.

The only time Horseshoe Indy veered from that schedule recently was in 2024, when the track added a 124th racing date to start the season in April on an afternoon when the track was in the path of totality for the rare total solar eclipse that captivated North America.

The Indiana Horse Racing Commission approved the '26 dates unanimously at Tuesday's monthly meeting.

“We worked hard with our horsemen on this calendar,” Eric Halstrom, the Horseshoe Indy general manager, said at the Oct. 27 meeting. “I know all of you are aware of the HISA [Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority] impact on our racing. And to stay at 123 days is actually a real accomplishment. Our [HISA] fees next year will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $3.5 million. Half of that comes out of our purse fund.

“To stay at 123 days took some real work, and we moved some days around here and there [to] keep those purses where they need to be,” Halstrom said. He did not cite specific purse levels for next year's meet.

Halstrom said the track faced a dilemma regarding the scheduling of its signature race, the GIII Indiana Derby, which he said seems to fit best on the first Saturday of July.

“That happens to be July 4 [next] year,” Halstrom said. “We agonized over this one for quite a while, thought about it, and we're going to move that to the week after [the holiday, to July 11] and try not to fight July 4 [when] a lot of people have other things going down.”

Halstrom said the handle on Indiana Derby day has gone from “a shade over $4 million” in 2019 to “approaching $10 million” in 2025.

The post Horseshoe Indy Maintains Status Quo of 23 dates for ’26 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article