Sweetwater Downs Announces 2025 Stakes Schedule and Opening Season
By Leann Noguera/StallioneSearch
ROCK SPRINGS, WY–May 29, 2025—Sweetwater Downs racetrack in Rock Springs, Wyoming, will kick off the 2025 racing season on Saturday, August 16th. The 18-day meet will feature races on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and conclude on Sunday, September 28th.
Gates open at noon on Saturdays and Sundays, with post times set for 1 p.m. Races will also be held on Fridays, August 22nd and 29th, and September 5th and 12th. Post times for both Fridays are at 4 p.m. (MDT).
Sweetwater Downs will host seven weeks of family-friendly activities, including pony stick races for kids, live music, food, and drinks. The traditional Governor’s Handicap, a 400-yard stakes race for Quarter Horses, and the John Schiffer Memorial Race, for Thoroughbreds, continue as annual season highlights.
Other premier state-bred stakes racing events for the 15th annual season at Sweetwater Downs include the $75,000 Wyoming Bred Futurity, the $50,000 Wyoming Bred Derby, and the $35,000 Wyoming Bred Maturity. Here is the complete stakes racing schedule for the 2025 season.
Here is the complete stakes schedule for the seven week meet.
Race
Added Money
Trials
Date
Horse Palace Stakes*
$25,000
Aug 16th
Isaws Sugar Bear F&M Stakes
$15,000
Aug 17th
Governor’s Handicap*
$15,000
Aug 30th
John Schiffer Memorial*
$25,000
Sept 6th
Sweetwater Downs QH Futurity
$75,000
Aug 23rd
Sept 6th
Sweetwater Downs QH Maturity
$35,000
Aug 24th
Sept 7th
Sue Wallis F&M Stakes*
$25,000
Sept 7th
Sweetwater Downs QH Derby
$50,000
Aug 24th
Sept 7th
Exacta Stakes*
$25,000
Sept 13th
Sweetwater TB Futurity
$25,000
Sept 13th
Sweetwater TB Derby
$30,000
Sept 14th
Sue Wallis F&M Stakes*
$25,000
Sept 20th
WABRA WY Bred QH Futurity
$75,000
Sept 13th & 14th
Sept 27th
WABRA WY Bred QH Derby
$50,000
Sept 13th & 14th
Sept 27th
WABRA WY Bred QH Maturity
$35,000
Sept 13th & 14th
Sept 27th
Hasta La Vista Stakes*
$25,000
Sept 28th
* All Overnight Stakes Races are Wyoming Bred Preferred. $250 due at time of entry.
Sweetwater Downs is located within the Sweetwater Events Complex at 3320 Yellowstone Road in Rock Springs. Tickets cost $5 per person.
For those unable to join the horse races in person, Wyoming Horse Racing offers betting at any of the ten Horse Palace locations, including sites in Casper, Cheyenne, Evanston, Gillette, Green River, Rock Springs, and Sheridan.
For more information on live racing at Sweetwater Downs, visit horsepalace.win/live-racing.
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