Saturday evening racing at Canterbury Park features the Minnesota Derby and Minnesota Oaks, each with an $80,000 purse, and two $40,000 overnight stakes. Hold for More, a 3-year-old thoroughbred owned by Dale Schenian of South St. Paul, Minn. and bred in the state by Wood-Mere Farm, is expected to be the prohibitive favorite in the derby.
Hold for More has won five of six career races and $161,900 in purses. Last year, he won the $75,000 Northern Lights Futurity, the premier race for 2-year-olds bred in Minnesota. He is undefeated in three starts this season, including convincing victories in the Victor S. Myers Stakes and the MTA Stallion Auction Stakes.
His prior six starts have been at sprint distances of six and one-half furlongs or less, so the Minnesota Derby distance of 1 mile and 70 yards could be a test of the colt’s stamina. His trainer, Francisco Bravo, has seen enough to think that he can handle the added ground. “He handled the move from six to six and a half furlongs and that is a good indication that he can handle more distance,” Bravo said. “He does everything right. We haven’t seen his best race yet.”
Bravo and Schenian teamed up to win the 2000 Minnesota Derby with Crocrock, the all-time earnings leader at the Shakopee, Minn. racetrack with more than $340,000 in purse money. A win Saturday by Hold for More would move him into the top 20 in all-time earnings. Leading jockey Dean Butler has the mount and will break from post-position seven in the nine-horse derby, the eighth race on a 10-race program that begins at 6:30 p.m. Hold for More is 4 to 5 on the morning line.
The Minnesota Oaks, also at 1 mile and 70 yards, is the seventh race. The $40,000 Careless Navigator Stakes, race five, is restricted to 2-year-olds. The 3 to 5 morning line favorite is the undefeated colt Stormation, a maiden winner at Canterbury and recent stakes winner at Prairie Meadows, trained by Robertino Diodoro.
The $40,000 John Bullit Stakes will be run as race six.
Several popular Twin Cities food trucks will be at Canterbury Saturday night as well. General admission is $6. Children 17 and younger are admitted free. Additional information can be found at www.canterburypark.com .
