Canterbury adds second pick five with 10 percent takeout

Canterbury Park opens Saturday night with a number of new stables, a key addition to its wagering format, and plans to roll out a fresh sprint distance in July.

Canterbury is set for a 54-date meet through Sept. 28. The season is starting about a week earlier than last year and ending two weeks later. Canterbury will generally race Thursday and Saturday nights, and at 1 p.m. Central on Sundays.

“We moved our schedule to be mostly three days a week,” said Amber Carlisle, who has been promoted to senior manager of racing operations. “It’s the same amount of race days as 2023. Last year, we had six weeks of racing at four days a week. This year, there will be three-day weeks.”

Canterbury will have three Wednesday cards in July.

Canterbury’s wagering format has been expanded to include a second pick five. Both will offer a North American-low 10 percent takeout, and each is a 50-cent wager.

The horse population is strong. Carlisle said Canterbury can house more than 1,000 horses and received stall requests in excess of that number. The track has three new 108-stall barns as part of an ongoing $15 million infrastructure investment that includes a new safety rail on the main track. For the eight-race opener, 77 horses were entered for an average of 9.6 runners per race.

“We have nine new trainers this year and several trainers who hadn’t been here in a few years returning,” Carlisle said.

The group includes Ruben Fuentes, Ty Garrett, Bart Hone, Ed Kereluk, John Muckey, Stetson Rushton, and Don Schnell.

Joel Berndt, last year’s leading trainer, is back as is Canterbury’s all-time leading trainer, Mac Robertson.

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Trainers have a new incentive to race at Canterbury. A pre-paid starter incentive rewards approved 3-year-olds and up between $250 to $1,500 each. The distribution amount is based on starts at the meet – and the distance a trainer’s stable traveled to set up a barn at Canterbury.

The new season also will bring a new distance option for races.

“This week we broke ground on a new seven-eighths chute,” Carlisle said. “We eliminated our 6 1/2-furlong chute. We can still run six furlongs. It was a good compromise with the horse people. They’re excited, think seven furlongs will be a good distance for their horses.”

The chute will be located near the first turn and makes races seven furlongs in distance “like a one-and-a-half-turn race,” Carlisle said.

Purses are projected to average $175,000 per day, a figure that includes stakes, Carlisle said. The stakes program has been adjusted, with some former stakes now $40,000 overnight handicaps. The move was made with horsemen to prioritize overnight purses.

A new overnight handicap will be the Mr. Dale on July 13. It’s for fillies and mares at five furlongs on turf and honors one of Canterbury’s owners, Dale Schenian, who died last summer.

Canterbury plans to name races on its Hall of Fame card July 13 for a pair of late members, Bob Lothenbach, the leading owner last year, and six-time stakes winner Heliskier.

The $75,000 Minnesota Derby and $75,000 Minnesota Oaks are Aug. 10, while a card of six stakes runs Aug. 31.

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