Canterbury Park celebrates with record season complete

When Canterbury Park put Saturdays back on its racing calendar, track officials anticipated there would be a tradeoff. They hoped that restoring the traditional weekend schedule would draw more spectators this summer, but with so many other tracks also running on Saturdays, they thought out-of-state wagering might take a hit.

The season unexpectedly delivered the best of both worlds. The Shakopee track saw total handle rise to $97.6 million, a Canterbury Park record, during a 64-day meet that ended Saturday. While the throwback schedule fulfilled its mission of attracting more fans and boosting on-track handle, out-of-state wagering also increased to fuel an uptick in overall handle for the third consecutive year.

The 13-race finale drew $2.4 million in wagering. For the season, total handle was up 7.4% over last year, on-track wagering rose 16% and out-of-state handle was up 6.5%.

Canterbury faces a busy offseason. Officials still are negotiating an extension of their purse-enhancement deal with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, which is critical to keeping next year's purses at the same level, and a major renovation of the stable area will begin this fall.

Saturday, though, was all about celebrating a successful summer.

"We hoped to get our live handle back to the numbers we had historically, when we were more focused on the weekend audience," said Andrew Offerman, Canterbury's senior vice president of racing. "We were prepared to sacrifice some of our overall handle to accommodate that. To be able to set another record exceeded my expectations."

Canterbury has seen a sharp increase in out-of-state wagering since 2020, when the pandemic forced it to change its strategy. With attendance affected by COVID-19 restrictions, track officials pursued more out-of-state wagering by choosing to race on days when few other tracks were running.

This summer, Canterbury was eager to bring back the large, lively weekend crowds that have long been its hallmark. Returning to Saturday and Sunday racing for the first time since 2019 — and restoring a full menu of favorite promotions — the track recaptured its atmosphere while maintaining wagering.

The track set a new single-day handle record on June 22, with $4.7 million wagered. Daily handle surpassed $3 million on three cards, the most ever in a single season. Field size also remained steady, which Offerman considered a victory at a time when many tracks are struggling to fill races.

Offerman said next year's schedule will depend on how much purse money is available. Canterbury paid $15.7 million in purses this season, with $7.28 million coming from the purse-enhancement agreement with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

That deal will expire Dec. 31 if no extension is signed. Less purse money likely would mean fewer racing days next summer. Offerman said Canterbury might consider running three days per week, as many tracks do, instead of the usual four.

Saturday's finale also crowned Canterbury's season champions. Midnight Current, undefeated in five starts, earned three titles, including Horse of the Year. Her trainer, Joel Berndt, tied Mac Robertson for the thoroughbred training title with 61 victories each.

Harry Hernandez won 79 races to earn the thoroughbred jockey title in his first season in Shakopee. Jockey Ry Eikleberry, a six-time riding champ at Canterbury, won four races Saturday on his final card before retirement.