The annual Leg Up Night at the Races is Saturday evening.
Several events are planned during the races on Saturday to raise funds for Leg Up. A silent auction will be held, raffle tickets for cash or an electronic bike are being sold, a jockey meet-and-great will take place on track level and two sponsored jockey-ridden bouncy ball races will be held.
Founded in 2014, the Leg Up Fund is a tax exempt 501 (c)3 established to provide temporary financial assistance to jockeys and exercise riders in the immediate aftermath of a racing-related injury and provide support for other programs administered by the Minnesota HBPA and Chaplaincy at Canterbury Park.
The fund is supported each meet through per-start contributions from horse owners and jockeys. Public support continues to be a crucial component and this annual fund raiser is an important piece. Year-round sale of pull tabs, added this year, will also make a positive impact.
New Stable Gate Opens
As promised, the new stable gate opened today at 1 p.m. and the old entrance gate, used for nearly 40 years, will no longer be in use and will be demolished next week. The new gate is located
between the quarter mile chute and the test barn with access from Unbridled Avenue. A new circulating road leading to the barn area has been blacktopped and is ready for traffic.
More than $15 million is being invested in racing improvement projects. Change is never easy and routine is often a best friend on the backstretch but racing officials are confident that improvements are worth the investment.
“If we don’t innovate, we can’t grow,” senior manager of racing operations Amber Carlisle said.
7 Furlong distance to be tested without wagering
There are eight pari-mutuel races scheduled for Sunday’s 1:10 p.m. Pepsi Family Day/Corgi Race program but also a ninth race exists which will be a non-parimutuel race at the new distance of 7 furlongs. The $5,000 starter allowance will be run, about 40 minutes after the final race, under normal race and safety protocol conditions with a $12,000 purse except that there will be no wagering allowed. This will serve as a test for the newly added 7-furlong chute located midway through the first turn. Seven horses have entered the race. Many factors are involved: timing, ambulance location, camera angles, gate placement and a temporary rail. If everything works harmoniously then a race at the new distance will be carded soon.
“For the seven-furlong test to be successful we need the jockeys’ approval and support. We need to be confident that they feel safe,” Carlisle said.
