A handful of Quarter Horse racing enthusiasts got together to discuss their ideas about making pari-mutuel horse racing a reality. Progress was slow but steady and, in 1981 when Prairie Meadows was still a vision of the future, Central City track at the Linn County Fairgrounds was host to Quarter Horse racing. Hundreds of racing fans showed up on Sundays for an afternoon of exciting Quarter Horse racing. It wasn’t long before word of mouth resulted in over 1,400 fans one afternoon.

The Iowa Quarter Horse Racing Association continued diligently to promote pari-mutuel interest in the state of Iowa and was instrumental in the passage of pari-mutuel legislation and the Iowa Breeder Fund as we know it today.

Thirty-five years since the founding of the Iowa Quarter Horse Racing Association, the industry is alive and strong. The Iowa Quarter Horse racing program is one of the tops in the United States, and the Iowa-bred program continues to grow steadily and the future is bright.

The Iowa Quarter Horse Racing Association, as a nonprofit organization, sponsors a variety of programs to complement all aspects of the Quarter Horse racing industry in Iowa and provides the following benefits and activities to its members.
 

• Maintains an open line of communication with state and local government agencies and monitors any legislation that would affect our industry.

• Works closely with racing officials at Prairie Meadows in its efforts to provide a well-balanced racing program.

• Has representation on the AQHA Racing Council.

• Sponsors seven Iowa-bred stakes races.

• Holds an annual membership meeting.

• Conducts open election of officers.

• Holds public board meetings.

• Hosts an annual awards dinner to honor outstanding Iowa breeders, owners, and horses.

• Distributes a quarterly newsletter.

• Promotion & marketing for Iowa Quarter Horse Racing