Two trials will be conducted Tuesday for the Canterbury Park Quarter Horse Derby with the 10 fastest horses qualifying for the Aug. 11 final. The final will be the 33rd running of the QH Derby dating back to the inaugural in 1986. That race was won by 3-year-old Throb for owner Pine Tree Racing Stable.
Ed Ross Hardy has won the QH Derby eight times. His first came in 1998 with Oro O Toole. Hardy has two chances to qualify for the final.
Trainer Jerry Livingston won back to back in 1999 and 2000. The 1999 rendition had a lasting 
impact on Minnesota quarter horse racing as the winner Easanon, owned by Sylvia Casby, became a productive broodmare responsible for several stakes winners for Casby and her daughter Cam. Easanon offspring CS Flashlight, CS Night Light, CS Strobelight and CS Limelight won the Minnesota Quarter Horse Futurity in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007 respectively.
One name absent from the Canterbury QH Derby’s winning trainer list is Jason Olmstead, the top trainer here the past five seasons. He has been knocking on the door in the final however.
Last year his entry was second by a head, in 2018 third and 2017 second. Before training, Olmstead was a jockey and rode in the Canterbury Park Derby multiple times. Victory was elusive then as well. In 2008, Olmstead lost by a nostril while riding for wife Amber Blair.
Olmstead will saddle four in the Derby trials and 23 over Tuesday’s 12-race program including 12 in the Northlands Futurity trials. Little Bit of Hero in race 1 finished second in the Gopher State Derby July 7 and Tipsy Girl B in tonight’s 2nd, favored in the Gopher State, finished fourth after a poor break. Both are favored in their heats.
Racing begins at 4:30pm.
