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SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Friday, Oct. 25, 2024) — The Indiana Horse Racing Commission (IHRC) approved racing dates for the 2025 season for both Harrah’s Hoosier Park and Horseshoe Indianapolis Thursday, Oct. 24 at their regular meeting held at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing will mirror the 2024 schedule at Horseshoe Indianapolis, racing 123 total days with six dates dedicated to all Quarter Horse racing.

Live racing is set to begin Tuesday, April 15, 2025, and will conclude Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. The bulk of racing will be held at 2:10 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The 31st running of the Indiana Derby is set for Saturday, July 5 with a first post time of 12 p.m. while the sixth annual Indiana Champions Day will also have a 12 p.m. start time Saturday, Oct. 25.

“Our racing program has grown over the past few years, and we feel we have a good schedule in place, so we didn’t want to make too many changes,” said Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing. “We worked closely with the horsemen’s groups to review our current schedule before presenting it to IHRC. We feel this schedule maximizes our racing product to all types of racing fans. We will still offer seven Saturday racing programs in addition to six all-Quarter Horse racing days, providing some weekend racing opportunities for our local customers again in 2025.”

Most racing cards include Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing throughout the season. Six dates dedicated to only Quarter Horse racing include Saturday, May 31, Saturday, June 28, Saturday, July 19, Saturday, Aug. 9, Saturday, Aug. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 4. A first post of 10:45 a.m. is set for Quarter Horse Saturdays.

“It’s amazing how much the state’s Quarter Horse program has grown over the past few years,” added Halstrom. “We have seen record numbers this season. We now have two Graded Stakes races, plus the purse for the Governor’s Stakes this Saturday (Oct. 26) on Indiana Champions Day has grown to $269,900, the richest race ever offered in our state for Quarter Horses. QHRAI (Quarter Horse Racing Association of Indiana) has worked hard to elevate their program.”

In addition to the Indiana Derby and Indiana Champions Day in 2025, racing will be held Kentucky Derby Day Saturday, May 3 as well as Belmont Stakes Day Saturday, June 7. Both days have an early post of 10:45 a.m. to allow racing in Indiana to coincide with two of the biggest International days of racing.

Holiday racing programs will also be held Monday, May 26 for Memorial Day as well as Friday, July 4 with post times set for 12 p.m. A full list of racing dates and times for 2025 may be found on the Website at: www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis/racing. ​