Tickets on sale April 4 at tickets.canterburypark.com
Canterbury Park’s horse racing season runs May 27 through Sept. 16 and will again be enhanced by various promotions throughout the summer including race-day themes, special events and food-centric offerings. Proven popular and returning to the calendar are dog races for corgis, dachshunds, bassets and bulldogs, culminating in a Best in Show Championship. Last year the Shakopee, Minn. racetrack, casino and event center introduced Taste of Canterbury, pairing various food and drink prepared by Canterbury’s culinary team on targeted evenings, to great success. This season will feature BBQ and Bourbon, Tacos and Tequila, Whiskey and Wings, and Craft Cocktails and Charcuterie. The traditional July 3 Kwik Trip Fireworks Spectacular that follows the horse races and often draws crowds approaching 20,000 is also scheduled.
“Combining events like dog races with the excitement of horse racing has been a successful formula to introduce new guests to what we do at Canterbury Park,” Director of Entertainment Deb Schaber said. “We continue to add new events each racing season while keeping all the fan favorites.”
Wednesday racing, which begins at 5:00 p.m., will offer reduced admission of $5 along with beer specials. Family Day Sundays with racing at 1:00 p.m. will include pony rides and face painters. Saturdays, also with a 5:00 p.m. start time, are billed as Date Night at the Park with wine specials and date night dinner packages in the Canterbury Clubhouse.
“We created consistency week to week so guests know what to expect on each day in addition to the racing but also feature larger one-off events like fireworks,” Schaber said. “A day or night of horse racing at Canterbury is like nothing else in the Twin Cities entertainment market.”
Additional promotions include food truck festivals, Canterbury Uncorked wine event, a coffee, chocolate and cupcake festival and unicorn and llama racing.
Tickets for both general admission and reserved seating options are on sale for all race days beginning Tuesday, April 4 at 10:00 a.m. at tickets.canterburypark.com. General admission for adults is $10, youth ages 6 to 17 is $7 while there is no admission charge for those 5 and younger. A $2 discount is offered for online ticket purchase.
New this year is Breakfast on the Rail held Saturday mornings June 17, July 15 and Aug. 12 beginning at 7:00 a.m. This event, hosted by former jockey Mark Irving and held in the trackside cabanas, allows for a look behind the scenes as horses train and ‘practice’ for racing. Special guests will include jockeys, trainers and Canterbury race caller Paul Allen.
“There is an increased and continuing demand for experiences and we think Breakfast on the Rail will provide that with an interactive look at the sport of horse racing,” Schaber said.
For the complete racing calendar and promotional schedule look here.
