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Fewer ’23 Dates, Cut in Purses Proposed by Canterbury

Despite coming off a record-handle season, Canterbury Park is proposing a 10-day schedule slice and a $45,000 average daily purse cut for 2023.

The reductions were made public this week as the Minnesota track faced a Nov. 15 racing commission deadline to apply for next year's dates at the same time it is trying to extend or renegotiate an expiring agreement with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. Since 2012, that deal has provided purse funding in exchange for the track and horsemen not pursuing additional forms of gambling, and it expires Dec. 31.

The 54-date season would begin May 27, the latest start in Canterbury Park history, and end Sept. 16. The track would cut back by hosting just three-day race weeks for the bulk of the season, although parts of July and August would feature four days of racing.

Rachel Blount of the Minneapolis Star Tribune first broke the story, quoting Canterbury's chief executive officer, Randy Sampson.

“At this point, we need to plan for how we will manage the racing season if there isn't an extension,” Sampson told the Tribune. “We would all like to run more days, but I think this is a great compromise. I'm quite optimistic it will work out fine.”

Canterbury handled $97.6 million in 2022 over a 64-day season that paid an average of $245,000 in daily purses.

Mike Cronin, the executive director of the Minnesota Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, told the Tribune that horsemen are attempting to focus on the longer-term future.

“We knew we would have to make some compromises for next year, and Canterbury would have to make some compromises,” Cronin said.

“The hope is that we can navigate this together. All things considered, we're excited about next year, but our real focus has to be on 2024 and beyond.”

The potential lack of a funding agreement isn't the only issue. Racing in general in the Midwest will be shifting for 2023 in ways that could increase competition to Canterbury from other regional tracks.

Ellis Park in Kentucky is racing under new ownership, and although Ellis is scheduled to race essentially its same block of 24 dates next year over the same summer template, new owner Churchill Downs, Inc., is expected to put a renewed emphasis on racing there by strengthening the racing program.

In Illinois, Hawthorne Race Course will return a summer Thoroughbred season to greater Chicago after a one-year absence in the aftermath of the sudden and permanent closure of Arlington International Racecourse by racing Mar. 4-Sept. 4.

And in Nebraska, casino gaming and sports betting at tracks are in the pipeline for 2023, with Legacy Downs (formerly Lincoln Race Course) and Fonner Park both expanding their schedules.

Extensive renovations are also planned for Canterbury, so the later start to the season at least affords extra time to complete a new barn and a new dormitory, plus replace the track's lighting system.

Canterbury's proposed dates must be still approved by the Minnesota Racing Commission in December.

“A lot of tracks around the country are already running three days per week, so the horsemen are used to it,'” Sampson told the Tribune.

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Durenberger Named HISA Equine Safety and Welfare Director

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) has appointed Dr. Jennifer Durenberger as Director of Equine Safety and Welfare, effective Nov. 28, 2022, HISA announced Thursday.

Dr. Durenberger will advise HISA's leadership and Standing Committees on equine health and welfare strategies and oversee HISA's relationships with industry veterinarians and other key stakeholders to ensure consistency in the implementation of HISA's equine safety and welfare policies nationwide.

“HISA is thrilled to have Dr. Durenberger sharing her insight and expertise to help protect the health and welfare of our sport's magnificent equine athletes,” said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. “Dr. Durenberger's leadership will be crucial to ensuring the success of HISA's cooperative relationships with Regulatory, Association and Attending Veterinarians, and other industry stakeholders, as we continue to fulfill our mandate to enhance safety and integrity.”

Dr. Durenberger has more than 30 years of experience in Thoroughbred racing, most recently serving as the Jockey Club Steward for the New York Racing Association. She is a member of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's Safety and Integrity Alliance, where she serves as Senior Veterinary and Regulatory Consultant, and a board member of the Racing Officials Accreditation Program.

“It's a privilege to join the exceptional team at HISA in its effort to improve equine health and safety through the introduction and enforcement of strong uniform rules,” said Dr. Durenberger. “I look forward to working with HISA's experts as well as the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit to further position veterinarians and all racing participants for compliance and success.”

An accredited senior steward, Dr. Durenberger previously worked as the Chief Examining Veterinarian for NYRA, a Commission Veterinarian for the California Horse Racing Board, an Association Steward at Delta Downs in Louisiana, a Steward at Canterbury Park for the Minnesota Racing Commission and as Director of Racing for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Dr. Durenberger received a veterinary degree from Cornell University and a law degree from Western State University College of Law at Fullerton.

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’23 Legislative Push Is On for New $455M Belmont Park

The 2023 push to secure bond funding for a new Belmont Park officially kicked off on a gray, chilly November morning with a press conference at the out-of-session New York State Capitol in Albany on Thursday. The unveiling of the legislative agenda for next year was hosted by the “We Are NY Horse Racing” coalition of small businesses, labor unions, non-profits, and trade associations.

While the scope of the years-in-the-planning project was largely framed in general terms as being able to bring state-wide economic benefits at no cost to taxpayers, several details did emerge about the ongoing attempt to modernize Belmont while closing Aqueduct Racetrack so that all downstate Thoroughbred racing eventually gets consolidated at one facility that is more functional and aesthetically pleasing than the other two outdated tracks.

The first bit of news is that the cost of the Belmont overhaul has risen slightly since a similar bond bill failed to gain support in the state legislature when the 2022 session expired in June.

Jeffrey Cannizzo, the senior director of government affairs at the New York Racing Association (NYRA), said a new Belmont would require “roughly $455 million” in state-backed bonds.

That's up 1.1% from the $450 million NYRA had sought via the bill earlier this year. But considering that inflation in the United States has rocketed upward at a 7.7% rate over the past year, that cost revision seems marginal.

“Belmont Park would be taken down, starting from scratch. So we're talking a completely new grandstand and clubhouse, right sized for a modern-age racecourse,” Cannizzo said.

Cannizzo also explained that “the clubhouse will be the last part of these efforts” and that the new, streamlined version of the facility would fit within a “similar footprint.”

Alluding to the work that's already being undertaken to build infield tunnels and possibly add a synthetic racing surface inside Belmont's cavernous infield, Cannizzo described the project as being built from the “inside out” if the state grants NYRA the bonds, which would then be paid back by NYRA through its share of video lottery terminal (VLT) revenue.

“Here's the vision: No taxpayer dollars are on the line. A state asset dramatically improves, and a world-class venue side by side with UBS arena,” Cannizzo said, referencing the recently-opened neighboring home of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders that, like the track, sits atop state-owned land.

“The VLT revenue comes that directly to NYRA, it's specifically earmarked for capital projects just like this,” Cannizzo said.

But because that revenue doesn't flow to NYRA in one huge $455-million chunk, It needs help from the state in fronting the money. The bonds would also likely offer a more attractive, lower rate than if NYRA sought a loan elsewhere.

The press conference was geared to a non-racing audience, and by having representatives speak from the Business Council of New York State and the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, it was clear that a primary goal of We Are NY Horse Racing is to get across the message that a rebuilt Belmont will generate trickle-down benefits extending far beyond just the Thoroughbred industry and the local economy on Long Island.

Najja Thompson, the executive director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc., warned that, “Without a strong horse racing ecosystem in New York, breeders can decide to move across state lines.”

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Arrogate’s Signal From Noise Romps At Second Asking For Klaravich Stables And Chad Brown

1st-Aqueduct, $85,000, Msw, 11-17, 3yo/up, f/m, 1m, 1:38.00, ft, 9 1/4 lengths.

SIGNAL FROM NOISE (f, 3, Arrogate–Holiday Soiree {SW & GISP, $405,642}, by Harlan's Holiday) was bet like a sure thing Thursday, going off at a commanding 1-5 off a 5 3/4-length defeat behind Tizzy In the Sky (Sky Kingdom) on debut over this same track and distance Sept. 23. Patient through the early stages behind and outside the leading pair of Adam's Angel (Into Mischief) and Wings Like Eagles (Get Stormy) through an opening half in :46.95, Signal From Noise began to advance with a three-wide move past the quarter pole. Under no visible movement from jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., she wasted no time in overtaking the top pair and turning it into a race for second place, lengthening her winning margin down the lane and hitting the line geared down 9 1/4 lengths ahead of Wings Like Eagles. Her 2-year-old half-sister, Vahva (Gun Runner), was recently second on debut at Saratoga Sept. 4. She also has a weanling half-sister by City of Light while her dam visited Nyquist for the 2023 season. Sales History: $280,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $65,750. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Woodford Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown.

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