What to know about Canterbury Park's 2021 season
The 65-day race schedule begins Tuesday and runs through Sept. 16, but there are no more Friday and Saturday races.
May 18, 2021 at 3:55AM
Sixty-five racing days, starting Tuesday and ending Sept. 16. First post is 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 1 p.m. on Sundays beginning May 30. Afternoon cards will be on Memorial Day, July 3 and Labor Day.
IF YOU GO
Canterbury is limiting attendance to 2,500 through May 27 and expects to raise that to 5,000 starting May 30. Fans are encouraged to buy tickets online at canterburypark.com. General-admission tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for ages 5-17, and reserved clubhouse seats are $15 and $5. There is a $2 discount for tickets purchased online. General parking is free.
OPENING WEEK
This week's three cards include nine races each, with 248 horses entered. Hot Shot Kid and Mr. Jagermeister, the two highest-earning Minnesota-bred thoroughbreds in history, face off in Wednesday's 10,000 Lakes Stakes.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Canterbury's richest racing days are the Northern Stars Turf Festival on June 23 and the Minnesota Festival of Champions on Sept. 8. The turf festival includes six races with total purses of $610,000, topped by the $150,000 Mystic Lake Derby. The Festival of Champions for Minnesota-bred horses has six thoroughbred stakes, each with a $100,000 purse, and a pair of $50,000 quarter horse stakes. The $175,000 Mystic Lake Northlands Futurity on Aug. 11 headlines the quarter horse stakes schedule.
WHO'S NEW
Several trainers from New Mexico will race in Shakopee this summer, including one with a glittering entry on his résumé: Bennie (Chip) Woolley, Jr., who trained Mine That Bird to an upset victory in the 2009 Kentucky Derby. The new group also includes Dick Cappellucci, one of the top trainers on the New Mexico circuit, and Justin Evans, who returns to Canterbury for the first time since he won 69 races in 2008. Evans is second in Canterbury history in all-time winning percentage (23.6) and third in all-time in-the-money percentage (54.6).
The jockey colony also gained some new riders. Ruben Fuentes, a multiple graded stakes winner, was 10th in the jockey standings at Santa Anita during the 2020 spring season. Other newcomers include journeymen Lindey Wade and Ty Kennedy.
WHO'S BACK
The top 10 leading trainers all return to Canterbury. Thirteen-time training champ Mac Robertson has entered 19 horses in this week's races. 2020 champion Joel Berndt has one of the largest stables on the grounds, and Robertino Diodoro has reserved 54 stalls as he seeks a fourth Canterbury training title.
Ry Eikleberry, Alex Canchari and Dean Butler, who have won a combined $32 million in Canterbury purses, are among the returning riders.
The Vikings let go of one of the few remaining players from their 2022 NFL draft class on Saturday morning, cutting cornerback Akayleb Evans after his role on defense had dissolved. He could return to the practice squad.
