Prairie Meadows Casino, Racetrack, & Hotel is proud to announce the hiring of two racing officials for the upcoming 2025 racing season. Eric DeCoster has been hired as the Thoroughbred Racing Secretary and Kelly McReynolds has been hired as the Starting Gate Starter at Prairie Meadows.
Eric DeCoster is a recent graduate from the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program & Animal Sciences with a minor in Business Administration. He worked in the racing office previously at Prairie Meadows and Oaklawn in 2024, Rillito Park 2022-2023 and interned at NYRA in 2022. DeCoster has prior experience and accolades as an Advisory Group Member of the HISA Next Generation Group, acting as Sponsorships and Exhibitor Coordinator during the Global Symposium in 2022-23, attaining valuable horse sale experience at Wanamaker's LLC in New York and having the thrill of working with horses hands-on also in New York during the summer of 2021.
Derron Heldt, Prairie Meadows Vice President for Racing has the utmost confidence that DeCoster will succeed in putting together attractive and lucrative race cards for Thoroughbred owners, trainers and the betting public this Summer.
"Eric really impressed me with his knowledge, abilities to support his decisions, and to get the job done at a high level when he joined our team in the office last season, and with him joining our experienced crew already in place, the sky's the limit for Eric," explained Heldt.
Kelly McReynolds joins the team at Prairie Meadows with around 40-plus years of experience in horse racing. From his days learning the role of starting horses from the gate first as an assistant starter in the mid-late 1980's in California, then moving up the ranks in various roles as a racing official or starter in Idaho, New Mexico and Oklahoma from the mid 1990's until 2022. Most notably, having the honor and distinction of starting several All-American Futurity finals at Ruidoso Downs is quite an accomplishment and solidifies his professional experience within the racing industry.
Heldt praised McReynolds overall experience and background with both Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses, which makes him a great fit for the racing program.
"Kelly brings so much to the table with his experience, dedication and proven ability as a horse race starter in the industry and I feel confident that he will continue to provide a high level of integrity and fairness that we've had over the years with Tom Benjamin," Heldt said.
McReynolds takes over after the retirement of former starter Tom Benjamin whose distinguished career at Prairie Meadows included his induction into the Prairie Meadows Racing Hall of Fame back in 2018 and having a tenure with Prairie Meadows from its inception back in 1989.
The 2025 live racing season with 80 race days, begins with 20 days of Thoroughbred-only racing from May 9 -- June 14 followed by a mixed Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse schedule of 60 race days from June 15 -- September 27. The first condition book, stall application, stakes schedules and more are all available online through the Prairie Meadows website or by calling the Racing Office at 515-967-1205.
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