Larry Donlin – Trainer

Larry Donlin’s love for horses started early, when he was 5 or 6 years old, and has continued ever since. Donlin bought his first horse in 1965 and started training horses in 1972. He has trained ever since and still enjoys it. Learn more about Donlin here:

Trainer Profile: Larry Donlin

By Katie Merritt Trainer Larry Donlin grew up in Nebraska, and still calls Grand Island, where his house conveniently sits across the street from Fonner Park, home. He started training there more than four decades ago, in 1972, and many years later made Canterbury his summer stopping point for the meet. Over the years, he […]

A Very Gray Kinda (Month) Day

The fourth race on Saturday’s card summed up the afternoon and most of the meet this spring/summer/fall at the same time. Very, very gray. The race drew an 11-horse field that included four grays. Four grays in one race? When is the last time you’ve seen that? Racing operations analyst and tote board messiah Andrew Offerman […]

Boneafide Cat Does it Again

Boneafide Cat stamped herself as the most likely favorite for the Claiming Series Championship winning her second qualifying race in Thursday night’s opener at Canterbury Park. Adolfo Morales was aboard for the victory for Larry Donlin and owners Metzen, Kaplan & Strangis. The victory marked Boneafide Cat’s third consecutive victory at Canterbury Park this meet. She […]

Beating the Heat

Shortly before the fourth race on Friday, someone draped a wet blanket over Shakopee. The 85 degree temperature had been tolerable earlier with humidity levels close to 30. All of that changed as humidity levels climbed 15 points and the air suddenly stopped moving. How do you stay cool on a night like this someone asked […]

Duke Deluxe Notches 12th Canterbury Win

Trainers like Canterbury Park for their reasons, jockeys for theirs and now it appears that horses, too, like the racetrack for reasons revealed with a simple glance at their PPs. Look no further than Thursday’s first race and the No. 2 horse, an eight-year-old gelding named Duke Deluxe. Duke is mad about Canterbury and here is […]

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 […]