Hitting the Right Notte
By Noah Joseph In horse racing, some horses are well known not just for what they did on the track, but also for what they did off of it, like going on to become a successful stallion, a productive broodmare, or even an equestrian competitor. And at Canterbury, Bella Notte is a prime example. Bella […]
Grace & Gamblers – Owner Profile
By Mari Ballinger Grace & Gamblers: named after a lifetime yoga teacher, Julie Welle, and lifetime gamblers, John Miller and Peter Seals. A stable that is new to horse ownership. A stable that makes frequent trips to the Winner’s Circle with gelding Satellite Storm. And let’s not forget, a stable that has three wins out […]
Canterbury Park Hall of Fame Class of 2019 Announced
The Canterbury Park Hall of Fame Committee today announced the Class of 2019 inductees. The newest members, who will be honored in an August 31 ceremony at the Shakopee, Minn. racetrack, include thoroughbred trainer Francisco Bravo; the late Ralph Strangis who served as Minnesota Racing Commission Chairman; and thoroughbred owners and breeders Joni and Barry […]
A Year In Reflection
By Mari Ballinger Get this: A jockey’s professional riding debut that also happens to be their first career win. If that doesn’t indicate their riding career is going to be something special, then what does? It was June 17, 2018, Father’s Day, when Kelsi Harr first rode. She was aboard colt Bandit Point and took […]
26th Minnesota Festival of Champions September 1
The origin of the Minnesota Festival of Champions, which will be celebrated for the 26th time next Sunday, dates back to 1992, the end of the Downs era, the year that owner Ladbroke Corporation lost interest in live racing. Minnesota owners and breeders banded together to send a message to Ladbroke that there was indeed […]
Stakes Races, Indian Relay Highlight Card
BY JIM WELLS Sometimes the name game works as well as more time honored methods for handicapping a race. Other times, turns of phrase are required, too. Saturday, for instance: A horse named Beach Flower demonstrated she is no wall flower, another named Giant Payday didn’t live up to his name but was a winner […]
Relay Team Bears A Strong Message
BY JIM WELLS Everybody at the table had seen the movie, Wind River, a murder mystery that takes place on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, a production of what is happening with shameful and painful regularity across the nation. The conversation had started with a discussion of the top hat Jesse James White had […]
He Dreams of Horses, in Lakota
BY JIM WELLS His dreams have always been about horses. As a young boy, that is what filled his head as he slept. The affinity he found in sleep for horses shaped his manner of handling them during his waking hours He always uses his voice and hands, never an instrument of pain to communicate […]
Indian Horse Relay Racing Returns
BY JIM WELLS Indian Relay Racing is one of the absolute highlights of summer racing in Shakopee, a spectacle of bare-back riding equal to anything Barnum and Bailey ever offered the curious public. Not even those circus maestros had anything on the many indigenous peoples of the American West when it comes to entertainment. Watch […]
Three $50,000 Turf Stake Races Saturday at Canterbury Park
Indian Horse Relay Championship also on 5:00 p.m. racing program Three $50,000 turf stakes, the Minnesota HBPA Distaff, the Brooks Fields Stakes, and the Mystic Lake Turf Sprint, will be co-features on Saturday’s thoroughbred race card that begins at 5:00 p.m. at Canterbury Park. The stakes will be run as races three through five on […]