Canterbury Connections – October 18-19
Friday, October 18: Canterbury Connections Hawthorne – Race 8 – Princess Dinah – We only saw one race out of this filly in Minnesota, but her first career start was a doozy for Clay Brinson. She beat a highly-regarded (and heavily bet) Mac Robertson firster named Where’s Alayna after breaking slowly from her rail draw. […]
Relays & Riding Title Drama
The spectacle is every bit as good the second time around, although a miscue before the first heat of Friday night’s Indian relay racing shortened the field to three teams. A horse reared up while his rider attempted to mount and then disappeared into the gloaming of the overhead lights with an outrider in hot […]
Ulwellings Mount Final Charge
Canterbury Park’s leading owners, referred to as Champion Owners in the official lexicon of the racetrack, were Al and Bill Ulwelling in 2010 and in 2011. There was an interloper last year by the name of Ruben Martinez, but with time running down in the 2013 meet, the Ulwellings are fully a part of the […]
Races Heat Up
Thursday’s card was the 51st of the meet. So, let’s see now, that means there are 18 racing days remaining in this, the 19th meeting since racing resumed in Shakopee after a two-year-shutdown, under the name Canterbury Park instead of Downs. Naturally, the focus on the leading rider, trainer and owner will draw increased scrutiny […]
2013 Derby Day Nears
Occasionally she’ll think about the race and the biggest win of her career, the stuff of warm feelings and pleasant thoughts, except for that interminable wait. “It was intense, wasn’t it though,” says Lori Keith. The subject at hand, of course, is the inaugural Mystic Lake Derby first held in 2012 and Keith’s controversial win […]
Royal Birth Touches Canterbury
Superstitions abound around any racetrack, among the riders, the trainers and the public as well. So wrap your belief in signs, omens, precursors and presentiments around this tidbit: birthdays were being celebrated along with actual births at Canterbury Park on Thursday and some of the results were eye-opening. Lori Keith, Canterbury’s third leading rider at […]
MTA Stakes Cap Weekend
A horse with a bad foot and another with a good turn of foot grabbed the headlines on an otherwise leisurely Sunday afternoon One day after a record turnout of 20,000-plus crammed the nooks and crannies of the place, Canterbury Park took on a relaxed and casual demeanor, but there were three winners on this […]
Biehler Nears Milestone
Mike Biehler left Fairmont for Shakopee in 1985, the year Canterbury Downs opened, and quickly landed a job at the Malkerson farm nearby. He had worked with show horses as a young man and also studied animal science at Waseca Community College. Biehler wrestled at 126 pounds in high school and then Waseca CC. He […]
12,120 Enjoy Father’s Day Stakes
As the second choice at 7-2, it was difficult to call this horse a sleeper. But that’s exactly what he is, anytime you visit him in the barn. Ask his owners, Al and Bill Ulwelling, Canterbury Park’s champion owners the last two seasons. “This horse sleeps all the time, but I guess that’s good,” said […]
The Ulwellings Provide Quick Proof
Here is hard evidence that the Minnesota racing industry was not only in dire straits but that the recent deal with Mystic Lake is a saving agreement: The Ulwellings, Al and Bill, have been Canterbury Park’s champion owners the last two years. As Minnesota businessmen they prefer to do business in the state. They prefer racing […]
