Dale Schenian didn't shy from a gamble.
As a prominent Twin Cities businessman, Schenian made a few big bets that paid off. He threw his faith and energy into projects that not many would have stomached, including helping spur the unlikely purchase and reopening of what is now called Canterbury Park.
For all his success, Schenian was known to remember his roots and his friends — always welcoming visitors in Canterbury's owners box with a smile and loud greeting. Schenian died Aug. 25 at the age of 82.
"He was bigger than life," son Mike Schenian said. "He was a force. He was not afraid to take a risk."
Schenian was born on July 4, 1941, in Beaver Dam, Wis. He grew up in South St. Paul, the middle of three boys. Soon after he graduated from high school, he married Bette, his high school sweetheart; they were married 64 years. Mike was their only child.
Schenian started his working career unloading boxcars for a local lumber yard. He would later establish himself in the auto glass industry, purchasing a glass and paint business from a family member before focusing primarily on auto glass repair and replacement. After selling his original business to the Safelite AutoGlass chain, Schenian started City Auto Glass in 1990, which he helped lead until 2000; Mike Schenian succeeded him and remains president. The company was sold in 2015 to its employees.
Schenian started and sold several other businesses, including a Fridley collision center and Damon's, an Inver Grove Heights restaurant now known as B-52 Burgers & Brew.
But Schenian was best known in the Twin Cities for his association with the horse track. In the 1980s, he started a horse breeding operation out of Randolph, Minn., as a hobby and investment, around the time the Canterbury Downs race track opened in Shakopee.
