Post positions were drawn Wednesday for the richest race of the Canterbury Park season, the fifth running of the $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby. The one mile turf race will be run Saturday as the fourth race on a nine-race card that begins at 6:00 p.m. Nine 3-year-olds were entered, including multiple stakes winner One Mean Man who won the Grade 3 American Derby earlier this summer at Arlington Park. One Mean Man, the 8 to 5 morning line favorite, is trained by Bernard Flint and will be ridden by Santo Sanjur.
In 2012, Canterbury Park and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, owners and operators of Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, entered into a cooperative marketing and purse enhancement agreement that calls for SMSC to contribute $75 million to horsemen purses over 10 years. Purses are now more than double what they were in 2011. Out of the agreement also came the Mystic Lake Derby.
While the signature race is the highlight of the weekend, other festivities, beginning Thursday, Aug. 25, have been scheduled to celebrate the partnership between Canterbury Park and SMSC. Indian Horse Relay, a daring display of bareback racing showcasing teams representing 14 American Indian nations competing for more than $50,000 in prize money, will be featured on Thursday and Friday with two trial heats each night conducted between the pari-mutuel races. The top eight teams from those trials advance to the Inter-Tribal Championship Saturday evening.
“This is a very important weekend at Canterbury Park,” track president Randy Sampson said. “The agreement with SMSC reinvigorated the racing community. We have seen new trainers, jockeys and owners come here chasing the increased purses and, as was evidenced by a record-setting Minnesota Thoroughbred Association yearling sale earlier this week, the breeding industry is stronger than ever. We are pleased to be celebrating Native American culture through sports, music, dance, and art exhibitions as well as hosting the biggest race of the summer.”
An Indian Market, with more than 30 vendors offering unique Native American arts and crafts, will be open daily in the Expo Center during the races.
The Saturday race card also includes three additional stakes: the $75,000 Minnesota HBPA Distaff, the $75,000 Brooks Fields, and the $40,000 Careless Navigator.
Post time Thursday and Friday is 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, Mystic Lake Derby Day, has a special 6:00 p.m. first post.
For additional information visit www.canterburypark.com .
