“Black Sheep” To Boss
He won the race of life and won it by open lengths. Secretariat-like, as a matter of fact. And what a journey it must have been. Curtis Sampson, co-owner and longtime Canterbury Park Chairman, died peacefully at his Hector home Thursday. He was 87 years old and survived by his wife Marian, daughter Susan, sons […]
Canterbury Park Mourns The Death of Chairman Curtis Sampson
Curtis Sampson, Chairman Emeritus of Canterbury Park Holding Corporation, died Thursday at the age of 87. Sampson is well-known for reopening Canterbury Park horse track in 1994 and leading it to the successful publicly held gaming, entertainment and development company that it is today. Under his chairmanship, Canterbury Park was transformed from a shuttered racetrack […]
Canterbury Prepares To Celebrate
BY JIM WELLS It was the year of the O.J. Simpson trial and the Oklahoma City bombing. Michael Jordan came out of retirement and rejoined the Chicago Bulls, and Major League baseball players waged a 232-day strike. The e-bay shopping website arrived and the Grateful Dead broke up. Oh…..and Dave Van Winkle won the training […]
Race of the Week: MN Distaff Sprint
The Minnesota State Tournament of horse racing arrives this weekend each year, and after a summer that’s flown bye here we are. This day is not typically one to cash for obscene amounts of money but one to be enjoyed with the pride that Minnesota breeding is alive and well and will improve over the […]
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 […]
