July tradition: horse racing in Prineville July 10-14

It’s horse racing time again.

The annual Crooked River Roundup Race Meet is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, July 10 and run through Saturday, July 13 at the Crook County Fairgrounds.

“We had all of the stalls spoken for,” race meet director Doug Smith said. “There have already been some no shows, but we had over 300 horses wanting stalls and we have 278 stalls. If every race is full we can run 288 horses. We should have some very good races. I’m really excited.”

Smith was quick to add that how many horses will actually be at the race meet is yet to be determined. The race schedule for each night is not set until the day before, so things could still change, but right now it looks promising that races will be either full or close to full.

Wednesday is ladies night with all women admitted free of charge. Racing will continue Thursday and Friday, and culminate Saturday with several large races.

Once again the biggest purse of the meet will be the Rhoden Memorial Race Quarterhorse Race. For a horse to be entered in that race it has to first be nominated. This year competition for a spot in the race was fierce with a record 14 horses nominated for eight spots in the 250-yard race. The eight horses chosen to race will be based on total earnings by the horse in 2023 and so far in 2024, leading to what should be a talented and deep field for the race.

“We have some really good horses,” Smith said.

The other big race this year will be the Woodward Memorial Race. For the past several years many of the memorial races have had the same $8,000 added purse. However, this year the Woodward Memorial will have a $12,000 purse.

Like the Rhoden Memorial, the Woodward Memorial appears to be attracting a quality field with horses from tracks as far away as Emerald Downs in Auburn, Washington, reportedly coming to town for the race.

The Rhoden Memorial and Woodward Memorial should not be the only big races. The Danzuka Memorial Race has had $500 added to the purse by a jockey that previously raced horses in Prineville. Other races, like the Art Smith Memorial Race, should also have good fields.

“There’s some neat things happening,” Smith said. “It’s kind of fun.”

Last year the race meet implemented on-site betting through the FastBet Mobile website, allowing individuals to bet from their seat rather than having to wait in line to place bets.

“Last year about 3 percent of our total handle was on it, and our goal is if we can get to 10 percent I’m going to be tickled pink,” Smith said. “It’s a website that people can sign on to when they are on our wifi system. We started off with some technical difficulties last year and we have gotten past that. We have spent some time with people that have used it and one of them is the Miles City Montana Bucking horse sale and they have the same problem as us, they have a large crowd in their case (those in the crowd) are interested in watching the bucking horses buck, so they don’t want to give up their seat to go wager and in our case they don’t want to give up their seat because you may not get it back, so very similar.”

Smith noted that this year Miles City had nearly 50 percent of their bettors place bets on the website, which was popular with the people who did use it a year ago at the Roundup Race Meet.

“It could absolutely change things,” Smith said, “The people that used it last year were saying I didn’t have to go stand in line. I didn’t have to do this, I didn’t have to do anything and I could sit up and enjoy my friends and bet at the last minute and be happy and everything worked for them. So, I think it’s one of those things that once people try it, they are going to be excited.”

Smith added that it is important to recognize that the betting option is only available for people who are on site.

Gates open each evening at 5:30 p.m. with the first race each night scheduled for 7:15 p.m. General admission tickets are $10 per person for ages 4 and up, with ages three and under admitted free of charge.

The race meet is run almost entirely with volunteer help. With the current heat wave that means that a lot of work has gone into keeping the track in top shape as well as getting all the 278 horse stalls ready for use.