16,071 Witness Extreme Race Day! (W/Video)
Extreme day had something for everyone on Saturday, and everyone totaled 16,071 patrons on hand to watch Red Hot Zoomer win one of the shortest races in track history, Wild Jacob repeat as John Bullit champion, the mayor of Shakopee win another race, this time on a camel, and a one-eyed horse steal the HBPA […]
Finally… They Have a Winner
Call it determination, commitment, resilience or just plain stubbornness but a horse named Sol Fire and her owners absolutely refused to throw in the towel – not when she lost her first five races, not when the number reached 10, not 15 not even 19. Imagine that, you’ve been racing for four years and have […]
Stakes Racing Recaps
There has been plenty of quarter horse stakes action over the past half dozen racing days at Canterbury Park. Who won? Who lost? Who set a new track record? Here’s a recap of Canterbury’s recent big races: Great Lakes Stakes Stakes action kicked off last week with the 16th running of the Great Lakes Stakes, […]
Turf Chute Making a Return
It’s a minor detail to some, a big improvement to others, long overdue to a few and about to happen in any event. The subject at hand is the return of the chute on the grass course, abandoned sometime in the late 1990s primarily – according to Canterbury lore – because a number of riders objected […]
Over 11,000 Enjoy July 3rd Stakes
While human beings melted under the oppressive conditions while merely lifting a cold drink to their lips, horses named Tubby Time, Rare Sunset and Hollywood Trickster refused to wilt under any conditions Tuesday. Tubby Time (pictured above) won the $50,000 Blair’s Cove Stakes for the second consecutive year, and Rare Sunset used her extra gear […]
Great Lakes Stakes Preview
It is the height of stakes season here at Canterbury Park, where we are in the midst of four stakes races for quarter horses in less than two weeks. The highlight of last weekend was the Minnesota Stallion Breeders’ Quarter Horse Futurity, on Sunday, June 24th. A field of ten qualifiers ran 350 yards for a […]
Heliskier & Happy Hour Honey Win Stakes
Sometimes life is fair. Sometimes the world spins on its axis, like a giant roulette wheel, and the numbers come up just right. Yes, Virginia, there is a God! You can’t debate any of those propositions after Saturday’s stakes races for Minnesota-bred horses. Not only were these state-breds running for $50,000, as they once did, […]
Certainty and a New Perspective
Atmosphere, environment, ambience, milieu… whatever your choice of words to describe it, the air is definitely lighter these days, and nights, at Canterbury Park. It has everything to do with the certainty of a job down the road and a paycheck to go with it. Ask any trainer on the grounds and the response is almost […]
As Tough As Nails (With Video)
Say it to anyone around the track and you’ll get an immediate look of understanding or a nod of respect. He works the gate. Stories abound around any racing community about accidents in the gate, about horses stomping, tearing or kicking a member of the gate crew into the next county. “I’ve seen horses throw […]
The 2012 Jockey Colony
Several new faces join the Canterbury jockey colony this season and should fit well with the established riders that include Derek Bell, Dean Butler, Scott Stevens, Lori Keith et al. Tanner Riggs makes his return to Shakopee and will be handled by agent Richard Grunder who also books mounts for Juan Rivera. Larren Delorme moves […]