Bravo Worked His Way Up, Tirelessly
He was three days past his eighteenth birthday, having grown up in a country bordered on one side by a great ocean, on the other by the longest mountain range in the world, a country filled with diverse landscape and ecosystems. Yet, here he was, in the lush farmland of western Wisconsin, in a small […]
Minnesota Festival of Champions Sunday at Canterbury Park
Eight stakes races to offer total purse record for 26th running of “State Tournament of Horse Racing” Each of the six thoroughbred stakes races on Sunday’s Minnesota Festival of Champions program will offer $100,000 in purse money, a record for the event, on a day restricted to racehorses bred in the state. Two quarter horse […]
Strangis Racing’s Man For All Seasons
Ralph Strangis generally operated behind the scenes, as an attorney, businessman, racing commissioner, horse owner or fan, yet when he died last August he left a mark on just about any enterprise he had undertaken. He was valued and respected for his expertise in a variety of endeavors, and it became apparent upon his death […]
Grace & Gamblers – Owner Profile
By Mari Ballinger Grace & Gamblers: named after a lifetime yoga teacher, Julie Welle, and lifetime gamblers, John Miller and Peter Seals. A stable that is new to horse ownership. A stable that makes frequent trips to the Winner’s Circle with gelding Satellite Storm. And let’s not forget, a stable that has three wins out […]
26th Minnesota Festival of Champions September 1
The origin of the Minnesota Festival of Champions, which will be celebrated for the 26th time next Sunday, dates back to 1992, the end of the Downs era, the year that owner Ladbroke Corporation lost interest in live racing. Minnesota owners and breeders banded together to send a message to Ladbroke that there was indeed […]
Stakes Races, Indian Relay Highlight Card
BY JIM WELLS Sometimes the name game works as well as more time honored methods for handicapping a race. Other times, turns of phrase are required, too. Saturday, for instance: A horse named Beach Flower demonstrated she is no wall flower, another named Giant Payday didn’t live up to his name but was a winner […]
Relay Team Bears A Strong Message
BY JIM WELLS Everybody at the table had seen the movie, Wind River, a murder mystery that takes place on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, a production of what is happening with shameful and painful regularity across the nation. The conversation had started with a discussion of the top hat Jesse James White had […]
He Dreams of Horses, in Lakota
BY JIM WELLS His dreams have always been about horses. As a young boy, that is what filled his head as he slept. The affinity he found in sleep for horses shaped his manner of handling them during his waking hours He always uses his voice and hands, never an instrument of pain to communicate […]
Three $50,000 Turf Stake Races Saturday at Canterbury Park
Indian Horse Relay Championship also on 5:00 p.m. racing program Three $50,000 turf stakes, the Minnesota HBPA Distaff, the Brooks Fields Stakes, and the Mystic Lake Turf Sprint, will be co-features on Saturday’s thoroughbred race card that begins at 5:00 p.m. at Canterbury Park. The stakes will be run as races three through five on […]
The Great Rains of 2007
By Noah Joseph This weekend at Canterbury is a special one. This weekend is when we hold the annual Indian Horse Relay races. In addition to this exciting and brave display of horsemanship, Canterbury will hold three stakes races: the $50,000 Minnesota H.B.P.A Distaff; the $50,000 Brooks Fields Stakes; and the $50,000 Mystic Lake Turf […]