By Rebecca Roush
As the 2018 racing season begins to wind down at Canterbury Park, Kevin Gorg, former Canterbury Paddock Analyst and current handicapper extraordinaire, is still busy looking over future races and creating tip sheets for guests to purchase. The famous green sheet – Gorg’s Power Plays – are sold for $2 on live race days and can be found at stands near the paddock entry and the card club entry.
Gorg began participating in Canterbury’s handicapping contests in the late 1990’s and scored a trip to Vegas to compete in the National Horseplayer Championship. Soon after, he auditioned for and landed the track’s Paddock Analyst spot, where he worked on handicapping publicly from 2000 to 2010. During this time, he also submitted his picks for the Star Tribune. In 2014 former tip sheet salesman Jake Mauer handed over his long-held position to Gorg after he showed interest and learned the ropes before Mauer was ready to retire.
To handicap races, Gorg first looks over the conditions of each race to get a better feel for the types of horses that will be running. He then pours over Daily Racing Form and pictures how the race will go in his head. Finally he lays out his top picks and wagers into an easy-to-read format for guests to use. All of this preparation has produced many happy fans.
Gorg always carries 21 cents in his pocket for “good luck.” The 21 comes from the sweater he wore during his hockey playing days including when he won the Minnesota State High School Hockey Championship as goaltender for Burnsville.
When Gorg is not busy making his tip sheets or occasionally filling in for announcer Paul Allen, he is also a sideline reporter for Fox Sports North in both hockey and baseball. Gorg says he enjoys making tip sheets, because even when he is not at the track, it still keeps him “in the loop.”
As Jake Mauer would say when hawking his tip sheet: “It’s a jungle in there!” Don’t go in without Gorg’s Power Plays.
