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.

The post Historical Horse Racing Approved at Canterbury Park appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

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.

The post New Trackside Venue at Canterbury Won’t Have Betting, Will Eliminate 6.5 furlongs Races appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

All-Time Minnesota-Bred Earner Mr. Jagermeister Retired, Stud Plans Pending

Mr. Jagermeister, the all-time leading Minnesota-bred money earning Thoroughbred, was retired Saturday following a workout at Tampa Bay Downs in which he was preparing for next week's Pelican Stakes.

The 7-year-old, who had earned $700,839 in 37 starts, returned to the barn following the workout when it was discovered that he had suffered a condylar fracture of the left front.

“We breezed him and everything went fine,” trainer Valorie Lund said. “He came back off. At first we thought it was his foot.” But the veteran trainer quickly knew it was something more and called for an x-ray. It was then the fracture was determined.

A younger horse might return from such a setback but Lund knew it was time for Mr. Jagermeister to retire. “I'm sorry to see him go. He was such a joy,” she said. Plans are in the making for a potential career in the breeding shed.

Mr. Jagermeister returned to his barn in Ocala where Lund keeps a string of 30.

“He was wanting to play in the aisle,” she said. “He's feeling fine.”

Mr. Jagermeister exploded onto the scene in the summer of 2017 when as a 2-year-old he broke his maiden at Canterbury at first asking by 11 1/2 lengths. His second start was a runner-up finish in a Prairie Meadows stakes race followed by the easiest 15 1/2 length win in the Northern Lights Futurity, the premiere race for state-bred 2-year-olds. A month later he met the talented Amy's Challenge in the Shakopee Juvenile. That battle became one of the most memorable at Canterbury. The filly defeated Mr. Jagermeister by a fraction of a length after the two dueled down the stretch.

Mr. Jagermeister would continue to face top competition throughout his career. While he is the all-time leader for state-breds in earnings, he is seventh overall in money earned racing at Canterbury. The son of Atta Boy Roy, who Lund also trained, made much of his purse money the hard way.

“He always met tough horses,” Lund said. “He was really an astounding racehorse.”

He won 13 of 37 starts with six seconds and four third-place finishes in a career that will lead to a Canterbury Hall of Fame induction.

In 2018 Mr. Jagermeister finished second to Mitole, then one of the nation's fastest sprinters, in an Oaklawn stakes. Later in his career he was second to Whitmore, a future Breeders' Cup Sprint winner. His brilliant speed carried him far. In his final race on Jan. 9, a Tampa Bay Downs sprint that he won by seven lengths going away, Mr. Jagermeister recorded a career best 100 Beyer Speed Figure.

It was a race in his 3-year-old season that Lund remembers the most. That year began in the Grade 2 San Vicente at Santa Anita where he tired on a blistering pace. He next romped in a Turf Paradise allowance before facing Mitole and heading south to Shakopee. He went favored in the 10,000 Lakes against older statebreds and won by eight lengths. Mr. Jagermeister was and is the only 3-year-old to win that race in 28 renditions.

Following a tenth place finish in the Mystic Lake Derby, his first turf try, Mr. Jagermeister went on a three-race sweep of the Victor Myers, Minnesota Derby and Minnesota Classic Championship. It was the Derby Lund recalls fondly.

“We wanted to keep him off the rail. He won by so far. Leandro [Goncalves] was standing up and cruising in,” she said. He won by 10 lengths in 1:40.37, just .17 seconds off the track record established in 1985. “Four off the rail all the way around. Geared down,” she remembered.

Family was planning to come to Tampa for the $100,000 Pelican Stakes, which was to be Mr. Jagermeister's next start, this coming Saturday. They will still visit and Lund hopes she can enter a maiden 3-year-old she has high hopes for.

“They will still come,” Lund said. “We will party but instead it will be a retirement party.”

Source of original post

Canterbury Park’s 2022 Thoroughbred Stakes Schedule Offers Over $2 Million In Purses

Canterbury Park's 2022 Thoroughbred stakes schedule will feature 27 stakes, 15 on the main track and 12 on the turf, which will offer $2,060,000 in purses. Building on a successful strategy employed over the past two seasons, the stakes races will again be clustered on specific dates during the 65-day meet that begins May 18 and runs through Sept. 19.

Stakes for horses bred in Minnesota will be run primarily on Saturday evenings while open-company stakes will occur on Wednesday nights. Post time on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays is 5:00 p.m. CDT and 1:00 p.m. on Sundays.

The Mystic Lake Northern Stars Racing Festival is set for Wednesday, June 22 and features the richest race of the season, the Mystic Lake Derby, a one-mile turf race with a $150,000 purse, along with four $100,000 races: the Lady Canterbury, the Curtis Sampson Oaks, the Mystic Lake Mile and the Dark Star Turf Sprint. Also included is the $60,000 MTA Stallion Auction Stakes, bringing the stakes purse total for that night to $610,000. Last season the Northern Stars Festival, with the same races grouped on a June Wednesday, attracted a record handle of $3,795,180.

“The Mystic Lake Northern Stars Racing Festival has proven popular with connections throughout the Midwest as evidenced by last year's strong fields,” Vice President of Racing Operations Andrew Offerman said. “We plan to continually improve this event and believe that keeping it on a Wednesday evening will allow it to be uniquely featured across the country.”

The 29th Minnesota Festival of Champions, a program of races dedicated to horses bred in the state, will be Saturday, Sept. 10. The six Thoroughbred stakes will each offer a $100,000 purse.

Hall of Fame Night, with four $50,000 Minnesota-bred stakes, is Saturday, July 16. The $100,000 Minnesota Derby and Minnesota Oaks co-headline Made in Minnesota Night on Aug. 13 which also includes the $50,000 Wally's Choice Stakes and Glitter Star Stakes.

“Regarding the state-bred program, we felt it was important to move our featured Minnesota races to Saturday evenings for the benefit of the owners,” Offerman said. “We acknowledge that watching your horse in person and bringing family and friends to the races is a significant part of the experience. Running these events on Saturday evenings will accommodate that goal while also providing enhanced visibility to the wagering audience on nights when we will have large crowds.”

The first condition book and stall application, due April 4, are available at www.canterburypark.com/horsemen. A shipping and participation incentive program will be announced next week with the objective of attracting new stables to Canterbury Park and encouraging participation in the first weeks of the season.

The post Canterbury Park’s 2022 Thoroughbred Stakes Schedule Offers Over $2 Million In Purses appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights