Canterbury Park 2019 Stakes Schedule Features Record MN Festival of Champions Purses
Canterbury Park’s 2019 thoroughbred stakes schedule includes 31 races worth $2.235 million and will again cluster many of the most popular and lucrative races on single days. The Shakopee, Minn., horse track’s richest race, the $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby on Saturday, June 22, will be the highlight of the Northern Stars Racing Festival along with […]
Mr. Jagermeister Wins $75k Minnesota Classic Championship
Dame Plata remains undefeated with victory in$100k Northern Lights Futurity Mr. Jagermeister easily won the $75,000 Wally’s Choice Minnesota Classic Championship Sunday at Canterbury Park. The 3-year-old colt took command of the 1 1/16 mile race from the start, cruising to a 4 1/4 length win over True West. Mr. Jagermeister, who has won three […]
The Other Minnesota Get-Together
By Noah Joseph While much of the state is swept up in the excitement of the Minnesota State Fair, horse racing will have a different kind of get-together. This Sunday is the 25th Minnesota Festival of Champions at Canterbury Park, a day when all races are restricted to Minnesota bred horses including eight stakes races, […]
Canterbury Hosts 25th Minnesota Festival of Champions Sunday
Stakes purses boosted for state-bred best; Mr. Jagermeister 1 to 5 favorite in Classic Shakopee, Minn. — The 25th annual Minnesota Festival of Champions, a day restricted to racehorses bred in the state, will be held Sunday at Canterbury Park, offering the most purse money in event history. The purse for each of the eight […]
STATE STARS SHINE ON FESTIVAL DAY
BY JIM WELLS Steamy, muggy, humid. Or as mother used to say, “close.” Under those conditions, Canterbury Park conducted the 24th running of the Festival of Champions Sunday, an afternoon of racing restricted to Minnesota-bred horses and highlighted by a sensational two-year-old, a pair of full brothers who won the two quarter horse races, the […]
FESTIVAL BRINGS OUT THE BEST OF MINNESOTA
BY JIM WELLS The Festival of Champions abounds with stories of heartbreak and elation and more will be added to the growing canon of tales about Minnesota-bred horses, their owners, trainers and riders, with the 24th staging of the event on Sunday. Only in horse racing do the stars align as they sometimes do to […]
HILGERS, STEVENS HOOK UP ONE LAST TIME
BY JIM WELLS What does a Hall of Fame breeder do when he wants the best available to ride his horse? He calls a Hall of Fame rider. Jeff Hilger picked up his phone a couple of weeks ago and contacted Scott Stevens, hoping the veteran rider was available for Sunday’s Festival of Champions. Hilger, […]
Canterbury Hosts 24th Minnesota Festival of Champions Sunday
The annual Minnesota Festival of Champions, a day restricted to the best racehorses bred in the state, will be held for the 24th time Sunday at Canterbury Park. The first of 11 races is scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m.at the Shakopee, Minn. racetrack. A total of 94 horses have been entered to compete for […]
Racehorse Owner: Curt Sampson
By Katie Merritt Curtis Sampson was born and raised in Hector, Minnesota and has been attending the races at Canterbury since it first opened as Canterbury Downs. In 1994, after the track had been closed for two years, Sampson, his son Randy and Dale Schenian purchased the facility and brought live racing back to Shakopee […]
CHAMPIONS CROWNED ON FESTIVAL DAY
Fireman Oscar BY JIM WELLS Sunny skies, cool breezes and a surprise or two provided the perfect conditions for the annual Minnesota Festival of Champions, a card designed exclusively for Minnesota-bred horses Sunday. The card included a bit of everything, including what might not have been a race for the ages, but […]
