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Historical Horse Racing Approved at Canterbury Park

The Minnesota Racing Commission voted Monday to approve historical horse racing at Canterbury Park and Running Aces, according to the Star-Tribune.

The commission was not expected to make a decision at Monday's meeting, however, after more than 3 1/2 hours of discussion it voted 5-1 to approve HHR, effective May 21.

“We are at a critical crossroads,” Commissioner Raymond Dehn told the Star-Tribune. “There is a lot at stake.”

The Minnesota Indian Gaming Association (MIGA) and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC), which operates Mystic Lake Casino, both spoke against the proposal and could pursue legal action to block HHR. One sports betting bill being discussed at the state legislature, the House version, also would prohibit HHR. The current sports betting bills would allow only the tribes to conduct sports wagering.

Monday's vote would allow 500 HHR terminals at each track. A study commissioned by the tracks estimates that in its second year, HHR would generate $5.9 million for purses, plus money for the state breeders' fund, retired racehorse programs and regulatory costs.

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Partnerships, Presented by Taylor Made Partnerships: Rocket Wrench Racing

From bustling cities to quiet rural towns, the potential for achievement and success knows no geographical boundaries. The same goes for Thoroughbred racing partnerships. Successful partnerships are not always born on major circuits like Kentucky, New York, or California. Sometimes they are born in a barn just south of a rural town in Minnesota called Elko New Market.

For Rocket Wrench Racing's managing partner Justin Revak, what started out as a dream one summer while stomping divots on Canterbury Park's turf course has developed into a partnership group on a meteoric rise. From a daydreaming teenager to top-10 owner at his home track, this story proves all you need is for the planets to align and a rocket to get you there.

“It really has been an extraordinary adventure that began over a decade ago when I came across a Craigslist ad offering one percent of a Minnesota-bred 2-year-old colt for $300,” Revak began. “Loving horse racing since I was a kid, I decided to pick up the phone and call the number on the ad. Hell, it was only $300.” The horse's name was Rocket Wrench, an unimpressive dark bay with donkey-like ears and a blaze on his face resembling an open-faced wrench.

The trajectory of the new venture started out with a series of not-so-impressive races, thus the general partner was ready to give up on the horse after the second year. “I still had faith in Rocket, as we called him around the barn, so I agreed to buy him. The next day I brought him to my farm for the winter,” recalled Revak. At the start of Rocket's third season, Justin took to Craigslist himself and looked for nine partners asking $1,000 each. The ad, to his surprise, took. Revak was now the general partner of Rocket Wrench Racing.

Rocket Wrench partner Shawn Valek recalls the day the stars aligned for him. “I was looking for a lawn mower about 12 years ago on Craigslist. I clearly got sidetracked and found an ad for a partnership in a racehorse. The price was $1,000 for a 10% share. I quickly called my friend Joe McBroom and said I had two questions for him. First, I asked him if he would like to go in on this horse. He said, “Yes but what is your other question?” The second question was, “Can you tell my wife you found the ad on Craigslist?” McBroom granted the request, and the first group of partners were on their way.

Justin Revak and Rocket Wrench | Courtesy Justin Revak

McBroom has never regretted that day either. “When your horse is at the top of the stretch, it's absolutely thrilling to me and, the fact that we have a group of friends involved makes it a decidedly social endeavor.”

Revak sent Rocket to Canterbury Hall of Fame trainer Bernell Rhone to see if he could work his magic. On June 30th, 2012, Rocket Wrench Racing officially became a winning partnership as Rocket Wrench pulled away from the field by four lengths and crossed the finish line first.

Since that first win in 2012, Rocket Wrench Racing has amassed over $1,000,000 in earnings, boasts a 28% win percentage, and an in-the-money rate of 64%. “We have always been an aggressive claiming partnership. If a horse we have in the barn can't win or at least hit the board, we will drop him to where they belong,” explains Revak.

The team of trainers still includes Rhone but is now led by Karl Broberg and Tony Rengstorf. “We currently race in multiple states and all our trainers have impressive teams that do the day-in and day-out work that is ultimately responsible for our success,” said Revak. “Karl has taught me so much about finding good claims and we've become a really strong team. If both of us like the same horse, there's a pretty good chance it is going to do well for us.”

Partner Bret Woodson recalls, “I was in a previous partnership with some friends when I lived in Kansas City. It was a decent-sized group that claimed horses mostly in Louisiana. At the time, we were always going up against, and usually getting beat by, trainer Karl Broberg. Now I am a partner in Rocket Wrench Racing with Karl as our trainer. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right?”

Plenty of other racing enthusiasts have joined Rocket Wrench Racing in recent years including Lisa Migletz. “After my parents passed away, I wanted to honor them and our tradition of going to races by doing something special,” she said. “After doing some research, I was eventually led to Justin Revak and Rocket Wrench, and I became a partner. It was one of the greatest and most exciting things to ever happen to me.”

Rocket Wrench Racing has zero markups on any of their claiming partnerships and has gone from one group to seven in the last decade and now have 37 different owners. “We have had Canterbury-only groups, groups with higher investment levels, and groups with specific circuits in mind,” said Revak.

“We are currently offering our first Hoosier group to race at Horseshoe Indianapolis in 2024, which is exciting.” Each partnership group has $300 per month set aside to pay for all necessary legal and accounting services. The minimum investment level for a group starts at $2,500 and partners can own anywhere from five percent to 25 percent.

“I work to retain enough capital for each group so that we have few, if any, cash calls while the group is still active,” remarked Revak. “I am proud to say that we haven't had a single cash call since the first group was formed. That is not to say we haven't had swings in the total value from year to year, but overall, I work hard to manage our cash and horses, so I don't have to send out invoices.”

Partner Ida Schneck was drawn to the business model. “What I liked about Rocket Wrench Racing was that it was affordable and had a solid business plan so the risk of having to pay additional fees beyond my initial investment was minimal. Plus, I could own 5% and get an owner's license.”

Rocket Wrench Racing will be moving into the yearling market with Marcus and Crystal Ryan from Mason Springs Farm this year, due to a number of current partners looking for something new to experience.

“I am fortunate to be able to be a part of the main group of owners who have a piece of all the diverse groups within Rocket Wrench,” said partner Woodson. “My wife and I have three adult kids and they are all interested in and supportive of the Rocket Wrench partnership. Our four-year-old grandson has already been in the paddock and the winner's circle on numerous occasions, and we are hoping for many more as the years progress.”

Chris McCarron, Angel Cordero, and Justin Revak | Courtesy Justin Revak

Revak not only has learned that partnerships are the best vehicle to introducing new owners to the industry, but also that new owners expect more from the industry as it relates to racehorse aftercare and supporting the people who live and work in the stable areas.

Nebraska native 29-year-old Derek Drews is one of those partners. “I love being able to take family and friends to the barns to feed the horses,” he said. “Watching horses train in the morning is something special to see. Justin has always been great about getting myself and my family involved with the entire experience of ownership. Rocket Wrench participates and supports many of the charitable organizations, such as the Leg Up Fund down at the track. Yes, our ownership group is managed as a business, but we believe in much more than just winning races.”

Revak and several Rocket Wrench Racing partners unintentionally started a campaign in 2021 to buy air conditioner units for the dorms at Canterbury Park. “It was a sweltering summer, especially for Minnesota, and I went out and bought a couple of air conditioners at Home Depot for our groom's dorm rooms. Before I knew it, the HBPA, and the Minnesota Thoroughbred Association (Minnesota's breeding organization) and our partners chipped in even more money. Home Depot gave me a discount to help and away we went,” recalled Revak.

The giving did not stop there. Rocket Wrench Racing is a generous supporter of Jockeys and Jeans, the Leg Up Fund, and an exciting new organization that operates at Canterbury Park called Abijah's on the Backside. Sally Mixon, the founder of Abijah's, summarized the program. “Abijah's is the bridge between the racing industry and community wellness, pairing off-track Thoroughbreds with counselling professionals who are trained in a mental health experiential framework called ARCH. Justin and Rocket Wrench Racing have been big supporters of the work we do not only with horses and horse people, but also local first responders who participate in the program.”

The Rocket Wrench Racing story has now come full circle as the very first horse to launch this partnership, Rocket himself, is now one of the horses providing care for the clients of Abijah's. “It's cool being able to see Rocket work with people who need help, plus I get to see him most of the summer,” said Revak. “It is fun to look back at winner's circle photos on my wall from 2012 when my kids were eight and six and Rocket won his first race for us, until now when they are all grown up. My family and these horses are so important to me. The whole thing is wild. This horse, and this partnership has brought so much to so many.”

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New Trackside Venue at Canterbury Won’t Have Betting, Will Eliminate 6.5 furlongs Races

A proposed entertainment complex to be built outside the first turn at Canterbury Park will feature a “high-end” restaurant, a music venue, and an outdoor bar and patio with a games area and fire pit, according to plans filed with the Shakopee, Minnesota, planning commission.

The two facilities on the 15-acre site, to be known as “Boardwalk Kitchen & Bar” and “Stables,” will be right up against the outer rail with an up-close view of the action when Canterbury's season runs between May and September.

But despite the desirable location and the name choices that are evocative of gaming and horses, neither facility will be wired into the track's pari-mutuel system, and customers won't have direct access to tellers or self-service terminals so they can bet on the races.

“We're not anticipating any gaming,” Jason Haugen, Canterbury's vice president of real estate, told the Shakopee Planning Commission at a Jan. 4 meeting, at which board members specifically asked whether there would be wagering the proposed site.

“There's no betting,” Haugen said.

The planning commission did raise a concern that people might use cell phones while at Boardwalk or Stables to place wagers on the races through an advance-deposit wagering platform.

But after briefly discussing the difficulty of establishing geo-fencing to prohibit such wireless access, board members agreed there was no simple way to “legislate” against mobile betting.

The planning commission ended up voting 5-0 to advance the overall proposal to the city council.

Over time, according to the documents submitted to the commission, development in that area is expected to include other entertainment and recreational venues, such as more restaurants, a hotel, pickleball courts, or a bowling alley. Boardwalk and Stables are just the first phase.

After the meeting, TDN asked Jeff Maday, Canterbury's media relations manager, to explain the reasoning behind not having wagering at such a prime trackside location. He replied that it has to do with a developer taking over control of that parcel of land.

“Minnesota law does not allow wagering on Canterbury races outside the confines of the two racetracks,” Maday wrote. “Because the land will be sold to a third-party developer, it is necessary to remove the parcel from the Class A license. We are currently looking at potential solutions as we do believe this is a great fit in our development plan and will be a gathering place for race fans.”

A map of the track overlaid with the proposed development shows that the parcel will take over a portion of the dirt chute where Canterbury's sprints start, and this will eliminate the track's ability to run 6 ½-furlong races.

“Provided our request to remove the property from the Class A license is approved by the Minnesota Racing Commission, and we expect it will be, then there will no longer be races at 6.5 furlongs in 2024,” Maday wrote.

Maday confirmed that the starting point for six-furlong races will be unaffected, and that the track “likely will run more of those.”

According to a count provided by Maday, Canterbury ran 45 races at 6 1/2 furlongs in 2023, compared to 74 at six furlongs.

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Former Owner of Top Canterbury Stable Imprisoned for 4 1/4 Years for ‘Ponzi’ Fraud

Jason Dodd Bullard, who was accused of perpetrating an eight-year “Ponzi” scheme that bilked friends and investors out of $3.1 million that he spent, in part, on building a 24-horse Thoroughbred stable based at Canterbury Park, got sentenced to 4 1/4 years in federal prison Oct. 12. The order out of United States District Court of Minnesota also includes a mandate that Bullard repay what he stole from his victims.

Bullard's stable, Empire Racing, LLC, was the co-winningest owner in terms of victories at Canterbury in 2019. The outfit finished third in wins there in 2021 even though the Minnesota State Racing Commission suspended his license that September when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Bullard with felony wire fraud. A judge subsequently ordered the Empire horses to be placed under receivership.

Bullard, 59, admitted in a pre-sentencing report that he once lived “high on the hog” on the money of as many as 200 victims.

But, Bullard wrote, since pleading guilty and entering into a consent judgment that has already paid back $1 million, he now “lives in a small apartment in Louisville, hundreds of miles away from his wife and kids, trying to make a small transportation business work.” He added that he wants to pay back to victims the full court-ordered $3.1 million amount, and “do what he can to right his wrongs.”

Federal prosecutors depicted Bullard differently in their own pre-sentencing report filed with the court:

“For several years before 2014, Jason Bullard engaged in what he described as foreign currency investing. There is a lack of clear evidence what he was actually doing, but there is no doubt that the returns he reported to investors were illusory by the time 2014 arrived,” the feds stated.

“By all accounts, Bullard's outward lifestyle reflected success; the investors sure thought so,” the prosecution's report continued. “But in 2014, Bullard made a fateful choice: instead of coming clean and telling his investors that his program did not work, he took the easy and greedy way out. He continued to tell investors a lie–that his foreign currency program, which no longer existed, was successful. And he continued to accept investments based on this lie.

“Bullard's scheme did not end because he got a conscience or ran out of investors,” the feds stated. “It was an investigation by the SEC that brought his reckless and unlicensed scheme to a close.

“Bullard spent their money on virtually everything but what he said he would,” the feds stated. “He and his family spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to support a comfortable lifestyle, financed a horse racing stable among other things, and in 2015 bought a large, beautiful house across from a lake in Shakopee,” the city where Canterbury is located.

Ponzi-styled fraud is named after the 1920's con artist Charles Ponzi, although the concept itself is centuries old. It involves a swindler luring investors with claims of being able to deliver outrageously fantastic returns on opaque or difficult-to- understand business deals, with the fraudster initially paying back investors only by recruiting new speculators and their money into the scheme in a “robbing Peter to pay Paul” fashion.

Similar to a “pyramid scheme,” once the pool of available suckers dries up, the operation crumbles and the deceit becomes evident to investors left with nothing. Yet Ponzi bilking often goes unreported to law enforcement, primarily because investors can be embarrassed about admitting they were suckered into a swindle.

Bullard's ownership stats on Equibase date to 2014, but Empire Racing didn't come into being until 2016, when the feds stated that the Ponzi scheme had already been operational for two years.

Empire had a 147-132-106 record and amassed $2,446,965 in earnings from 734 starts. The stable was ranked 56th in North America for victories in 2021, 30th in 2020, and 24th in 2019.

Beyond being a seasonal mainstay at Canterbury, Empire Racing also competed at tracks in the southwest, the mid-Atlantic, and in Florida.

The Facebook page for Empire Racing remains active, but it hasn't been updated since its last horses raced at Canterbury in 2021.

“Our goal at Empire Racing is to give everyone who wants to invest with us, a unique and memorable experience,” one Facebook recruitment pitch stated.

Bullard must report to prison Dec. 12.

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