Canterbury Racebook for Breeders’ Cup Oct. 31 and Nov. 1
Canterbury Park is Minnesota’s place to be to watch and wager on the 2025 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Del Mar Thoroughbred Club will host the 42nd rendition of thoroughbred racing’s biggest event. Fourteen Grade 1 races will be run over the two days, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, with $34 million in purse money awarded […]
Canterbury Park’s 31st Season Crosses the Finish Line
The 31st season of racing at Canterbury Park concluded Saturday evening the same way it began May 24 with Minnesota-bred filly I C Gold and leading jockey Harry Hernandez in the winner’s circle. Hernandez won 70 races, atop the jockey standings the entire meet, and his third Canterbury riding title. Average daily attendance increased 4% […]
Track Conditions cause Canterbury Park officials to postpone four Thursday races to Saturday
Saturday’s original nine race card will begin at 4:10 p.m. followed by four postponed races Lightning following Thursday’s second race caused Canterbury Park to delay racing for nearly 60 minutes. The third race was abandoned and racing resumed with the fourth race, moved to the main track, as heavy rains fell. Race five, also moved […]
Three Nights Remain in Canterbury Park’s 31st Racing Season; Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday programs begin at 4 p.m.
Canterbury Park will conclude its 50-day meet with racing Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. First post each evening is 4 p.m. Attendance throughout the season averaged more than 5,200 while the average number of dollars wagered per race has increased over last season. The Sept. 17 program offers eight races with 63 entries, Sept. 18 has […]
Trainer Larry Donlin wins 1,000th Race
Racehorse trainer Larry Donlin won his 1,000th thoroughbred race Wednesday when West Island crossed the finish line first in the eighth race at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minn. Donlin, 82, began training in 1973 in Nebraska. By his estimation, Donlin has won another “40 or 50” races but those were not at recognized racetracks or […]
Minnesota HBPA Horse Person of the Week: Olivia Bethke
Each week the Minnesota Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Agency recognizes a person that exemplifies the Minnesota horse racing industry. This week’s honoree is Olivia Bethke. Olivia, daughter of trainer Troy Bethke, has been involved in equestrian pursuits for as long as she can remember. She always could be found working at the track or riding […]
Top Jockey Harry Hernandez wins four on MN Festival of Champions Night
Favorites win 7 of 11 races in 32nd rendition of state-bred celebration Canterbury Park’s leading jockey Harry Hernandez won four of the six thoroughbred stakes races on Saturday’s Minnesota Festival of Champions program. The evening of racing, in its 32nd rendition, featured horses bred in the state. “There’s nothing better than being in the job […]
How Bout That Curt represents Sampson racing legacy in Saturday’s Minnesota Festival of Champions
2-year-old is even money favorite in $75,000 Northern Lights Futurity When Curtis Sampson passed away in 2020, he left behind a horse racing legacy that will be remembered Saturday in the 32nd Minnesota Festival of Champions at Canterbury Park. That there is racing in Minnesota at all is a testament to that legacy. Sampson, along […]
L Conejo favored in MN Derby; Holy Dynasty in MN Futurity Saturday at Canterbury Park
Olmstead seeks eighth consecutive Cash Caravan win The history of the Minnesota Festival of Champions, an evening of racing designed to showcase horses bred in the state, has been dominated by quarter horse trainers Ed Ross Hardy and Jason Olmstead. They have won the Minnesota Quarter Horse Futurity and Minnesota Quarter Horse Derby a combined […]
MNHBPA Horse Person of the Week: Ray Hashimoto
Each week the Minnesota Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Agency recognizes a person that exemplifies the Minnesota horse racing industry. This week’s honoree is Ray Hashimoto. Ray was introduced to racing in California by his father, a horse player. In the late 1970s, while visiting Golden Gate Fields in Northern California, Ray met jockey Roy Yaka, […]