Canterbury Park’s nine-race Wednesday program is highlighted by a pair of quarter horse stakes, the $30,000 Grade 3 Canterbury Park Distaff Challenge at 400 yards and the $69,531 MQHRA Stallion Auction Futurity at 350 yards. The Distaff Challenge will be run for the eighth time. This will be the 36th rendition of the Futurity, first run in 1986. The stakes conclude the card, which begins at 5:07 CT, as races eight and nine respectively.
The Distaff Challenge attracted eight fillies including 5 to 2 morning line favorite Eye Live for Candy, trained by Jason Pascoe. She has run once in 2022 finishing third in a stakes race at Ajax Downs in Ontario. At Wednesday’s distance she has two wins and two seconds in eight starts.
Nsm Parks Candy Girl, trained by Charles Hunt and owned and bred in Kansas by Nancy McCoy, has just one win in her last 13 starts but had been competitive at Remington Park this spring. Stormy Smith will ride. Leading trainer Jason Olmstead has won the Distaff the past three years with Lynnder 16. He has one entrant, Political Fire, who will be ridden by top jockey Edwin Escobedo.
Olmstead is well represented in the MQHRA Futurity as he will saddle six of the ten 2-year-olds including fastest qualifier Relentless Robin. Escobedo rode Relentless Robin in the trials held June 28 but opts to ride Relentless Bay, who he also rode in the trials, in the final. Both are owned by Tom Maher.
Mallory Norton trained the 2022 winner Alotta Oh La La, and has one entrant, the second fastest qualifier Fabulous and Fiery, in the final. The filly will be ridden by Luis Valenzuela. Trainers Tyler Stein, Haley Hobbs and Bill Geditz each have one horse in the final.
