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Drake Relays moves marquee events to Friday night

Sports

February 27th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Drake Relays is moving under the lights. Meet officials announced Tuesday that a number of invitational races and field events will be staged on a Friday night rather than its traditional Saturday afternoon setup. Drake organizers previously announced in November that the 104th annual meet, set for April 24-28, will offer more than $500,000 in prize money in 2013 for a series of rematches from the London Olympics.

Meet organizers say they’ll offer a $50,000 purse for invitational races and $25,000 for field events — each the biggest such prize in the U.S. — after landing a new title sponsor, supermarket chain Hy-Vee. Drake also says 22 medalists from the recent London Olympics have committed to the meet so far.