Schoepf guided racing through ups and downs during 21-season tenure
Canterbury Park announced today that its director of racing and racing secretary, Doug Schoepf, will retire after 21 years of service to the company to pursue other interests within the horse racing industry. Schoepf has been Canterbury Park’s only racing secretary since the Shakopee, Minn. racetrack reopened in 1995.
“Doug has been a valued member of Canterbury Park’s racing program for more than two decades,” Canterbury Park President Randy Sampson said. “He has been here since the track reopened and provided insightful and much-needed leadership in the early years, drawing on his experience and connections in the industry. He has been a great asset to our racing program and deserves a lot of credit for our success.”
Schoepf also held the position of assistant racing secretary in 1991 and 1992 at what was then Canterbury Downs. The track closed at the end of 1992. Live racing returned in 1995 under new ownership and with a new name, Canterbury Park, along with Sampson, a first-time racetrack president, at the helm, and Schoepf as the racing secretary and director of racing.
“Doug helped set the tone for a horsemen-friendly racetrack, establishing a reputation that has contributed greatly to Canterbury’s ability to fill our backside with horses and put on a competitive racing program,” Sampson said. “Horsemen remained loyal to Canterbury and Doug’s racing office during the years when purses were lean. Doug has been a great leader and an even better friend. On behalf of the Canterbury Park racing community, I would like to thank Doug for his contributions and wish him the best in his pursuits.”
Schoepf, also an accredited racing steward, is currently racing secretary at Fonner Park in Grand Island, Neb.
“I am fortunate to have been a part of the success of the racing program at Canterbury Park and I take great pride in what we’ve accomplished,” Schoepf said. “There are other areas of the industry that I would like to explore and look forward to a new challenge. I know Canterbury will have a very promising future.”
Canterbury Park officials have no immediate plans for Schoepf’s successor and will begin a national search in the next month. Canterbury concluded a 70-day race meet on Sept. 12. Live racing will return in May of 2016.