Previewing Saturday’s Fillies Race for Hope

The second annual Fillies Race for Hope, a day of horse racing and fundraising to benefit Hope Chest for Breast Cancer Foundation and Pay It Forward Fund, will be held Saturday at Canterbury Park. The first of ten races, each exclusively for fillies and mares, begins at 1:30 pm. This day of horses and hope, presented by MHC Companies, includes four stakes races with the feature being the $100,000 Lady Canterbury Stakes.

The day’s events will include a Survivors’ Parade on the racetrack – immediately following the day’s third race – where several hundred breast cancer survivors and their families will be honored. Additionally, a hat contest will be held for all racetrack attendees, and bartenders will be pouring the Lady Slipper Smash – the event’s signature cocktail. Numerous sponsors have been lined up to help support this cause and many local companies have contributed more than 100 items for a silent auction that will be held throughout the day.

Four stakes races worth a combined $225,000 will be contested, featuring the $100,000 Lady Canterbury Stakes. Hooh Why, a two-time graded stakes winner, is the most decorated contender in a field of seven. The winner of the Grade I Ashland Stakes at Keeneland in 2009 over Stardom Bound (stretch run below) and the Grade III Seaway Stakes at Woodbine in 2010, Hooh Why has earned more than $1 million during her career for trainer Michael Revis and owners Hoffman & Trostrud. Bobby Walker, Jr. will be in the saddle.

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The local hopeful is Rare Sunset, the winner of the Minnesota H.B.P.A. Mile on July 3. Trained by Miguel Silva, Rare Sunset set the pace in last year’s Lady Canterbury before fading to finish fourth. Geovanni Franco has the call aboard Rare Sunset. This edition will mark the 20th running of the Lady Canterbury Stakes. (See the full field at the bottom of the page).

Three other stakes races will be run as a part of the 2012 Fillies Race for Hope. The $50,000 Hoist Her Flag Stakes is for fillies and mares going six furlongs. Minnesota-bred fillies and mares will face off in the $50,000 Princess Elaine Stakes at one mile and one sixteenth on the turf course. Lastly, filly and mare American Quarter Horses will run in the $25,000 Fillies and Mares Race for Hope Bonus Challenge, a bonus challenge race in the AQHA’s Bank of America Racing Challenge. That race will be run at a distance of 400 yards.

General admission is $5. Children under 18 are admitted free. Parking is also free. Information about Canterbury Park is available at www.canterburypark.com. More information about the day can be found at www.filliesraceforhope.org.

Everyone is encouraged to dress in pink to help celebrate the day.

The Hope Chest for Breast Cancer Foundation helps financially distressed individuals and their families who have been touched by breast cancer. Since 2001, Hope Chest has provided over $1,000,000 in support for more than 2,000 breast cancer patients and their families in the Twin Cities area. Hope Chest offers emergency assistance programs to provide financial assistance for rent, utilities, transportation and delivered meals to families.

The Pay It Forward Fund, a program of North Memorial Foundation, helps patients pay their bills while they undergo treatment for breast and women’s cancers. They pay essential living expenses so patients can focus on what’s really important – getting well. Pay It Forward Fund was founded in 2005 by a breast cancer survivor. They provide $20,000 each month in patient assistance to help patients buy groceries, pay their mortgages, heat their homes, keep their lights and water on, and repair their cars so they can drive to chemo. For hundreds of women in need, these gifts have made a difference at a time of crisis.

Here is the full field for the 20th running of the $100,000 Lady Canterbury Stakes: