Racing Friday and Saturday – News & Notes

SHREWD MOVE

By Katie Merritt While there aren’t any stakes at Canterbury this weekend, there are a few very competitive allowance races carded. Tonight, the 3rd race, a six furlong allowance for Minnesota-breds, three and up, is highlighted by Mac Robertson-trained Glacken’s Ghost. The four-year-old gelding is coming into the race off of three consecutive wins at […]

DERBY IS ALWAYS A WINNER

Thoughtless wins L' Etoile du Nord

BY JIM WELLS There are few things certain in life, but this much you can count on without reservation.  What is being played on the radio these days is not country music. No steel guitar, no fiddle. Not country.   Politics is not for sensitive, respectful people. Do we really need examples? The unqualified, absolute certainty, […]

GOODWIN CHASING A MILESTONE

BY JIM WELLS A mere nine days remain of the 2016 race meet. Quarter horse trainers have packed up their trailers and moved on, some of them south to Prairie Meadows where you can find the 2016 champion Jason Olmstead among others. Yet this summer’s quarter horse riding champion is still in Shakopee, still riding […]

Q and A with jockey Nik Goodwin

By Megan Johnson Nik Goodwin, a versatile jockey, continues to succeed and is just shy of 1,000 career thoroughbred wins. Nik won the quarter horse riding title here this season and is seven wins away from being the all-time winningest ‘Q’ rider in Canterbury history. He started riding professionally 25 years ago. Nik grew up […]

ON A DARK, STORMY AFTERNOON, THE HORSES RAN (special summer days still ahead)

BY JIM WELLS It was a dark and stormy day and a fellow felt conspicuous by his presence on any level of the grandstand Saturday. As the saying goes, you could have thrown a horseshoe in any direction and not inflicted harm. At mid morning, the skies opened in Shakopee and delivered what was described […]

Two of Canterbury's Best Continue to Win

Sunday there will be five quarter horse trial races for the big-money NCQHRA Futurity on Aug. 7. All of the meet’s top trainers will be represented in those trials as 46 two-year-olds compete for 10 spots in the rich 350 yard final. Quarter horse trainer Ed Ross Hardy surpassed the $3 million mark in lifetime […]

Heliskier Back on His Game

Horse racing has more than its share of stories that tug at the heartstrings, bring tears to your eyes and leave otherwise stout human beings weak in the knees. It doesn’t take million dollar colts and fillies or regally-bred champions, either. When you’ve invested much of what you have – even in an expensive claimer – […]

Mystic Lake Derby Day Nears

Go ahead and pick up the champagne, dig out the attire you wore last year for the race, careful to assure everything is the same, not a single accoutrement out-of-place, cross your fingers and don’t say anything that might be construed as a jinx. “My dad’s superstitious,” said Lori Keith. “It will have to be […]

Another Goodwin Takes the Reins

Chamisa Goodwin comes by her love of horses and raceriding quite naturally, as part of an ongoing family affair with the equine world and the racetrack. She, her brother, Nik, and sister, Neah, can be found at Canterbury Park almost any day of the week, raceriding or galloping. All three spend their weeks on the backs […]

Dissecting the “Blog Bounce”

There is a phenomenon in the pressbox known as the blog bounce, a mysterious, eerie force that accompanies articles written about specific riders, trainers or the like. In many cases, a horse or rider, recently boosted by a bounce from the blog in the form of a complete article, profile or even a mere mention, […]