Canterbury Park

John and Chelsey Stewart's Resolute Racing was represented by its first winner in Australia on Nov. 14 when the beautifully bred 3-year-old filly Ernaux (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) took out a maiden handicap contest at Canterbury Park in Sydney over 1100 meters. Beaten for speed and settled inside near the back of a seven-strong field beneath Kerrin McEvoy, Ernaux was ridden for luck with $2.20 (6-5) favorite Pyrolysis (Aus) (Zoustar {Aus}) to catch turning into the straight. Continuing to find at the fence, she was steered away from the...

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority has established a Racing Office Advisory Group comprised of senior racing officials from racetracks across the country, the organization announced Wednesday. The group will provide feedback to HISA's executive team and Standing Committees on rules, processes and operational practices affecting Thoroughbred racing officials nationwide. "Racing offices are integral to the successful implementation of HISA safety and integrity rules," said HISA Director of Racetrack Safety Ann McGovern. "By establishing this group, we are making a direct channel available for racing office professionals to share their...

With excessive heat across much of the eastern side of the United States through the weekend, Canterbury Park has elected to cancel its Saturday card, according to a tweet from the track on Saturday morning. The Northern Stars Turf Festival, which was slated for Saturday, will be rescheduled for June 28 with entries taken June 22. As for the Sunday card, Canterbury plans to move back first post from 1 p.m. CT to 5 p.m. CT. Officials at the Minnesota track said, "With projected heat indexes in excess of 105...

The two racetrack jobs that Crystal Conning currently has can be broken down simply. In one, her goal is to pick winners. In the other, it's to ride them. On Monday, her professional worlds will collide when the Monmouth Park paddock analyst rides Like a Saltshaker (Peace and Justice) in the second race at the Jersey Shore track in between TV appearances. "I think it's going to be cool to ride a race at Monmouth Park," said Conning, who hails from Melbourne, Australia. "I've been here three summers working and...

The annual National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association Conference concluded Wednesday in Safety Harbor, Florida with a session on how retired racehorses are transforming the lives of first responders and military members, as well as school children of backstretch workers, and a session  showcasing products using cutting edge technology to provide 24/7 security for stables and state-of-the-art software to help trainers do their jobs. Sally Jane Mixon, a Canterbury Park backstretch chaplain, exercise rider and mental-health counselor with a BS in Human Development Studies and an MS in Professional Counseling,...

Canterbury Park is proposing a 51-day Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse meet for 2025 that will trim three dates off the schedule that was conducted at the Minnesota track in 2024 while also including a nine-day break in the middle of next year's season. The schedule, which will be up for approval at the December meeting of the Minnesota Racing Commission, will run from Saturday, May 24 through Saturday, Sept. 20, beginning one week later and concluding one week earlier than this past season. Racing would be conducted primarily on Wednesdays...

Stan Bowker, a longtime management executive who also served as a steward at several racetracks, passed away Sept. 10 in Clearwater, Florida after a long illness. After 17 1/2 years at Ak-Sar-Ben in Omaha, Nebraska where he rose to become the director of racing, Bowker made stops at Canterbury Downs and Will Rogers Downs. He was also a senior steward at Colonial Downs and spent 11 years as a judge at Oaklawn Park, Indiana Grand, and as recently as 2021, at Canterbury Park. Bowker established a consulting company to assist...

The multiple-stakes-winning trainer Nevada Litfin, who has been licensed for 24 years and primarily competes in the Midwest, has been suspended five years and fined $2,500 for his role in a "paper trainer" violation under Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) rules. The penalties stem from a period last summer and fall when Litfin was suspended for a separate Horseracing Integrity Welfare Unit (HIWU) infraction and asked at least two subordinates to help operate his Canterbury Park-based racing stable in name only while Litfin continued to execute the day-to-day business....

As witnessed at this year's GI Preakness S., partnerships and syndicates are reaching the winner's circle at the highest levels. MyRacehorse scored the victory with Seize the Grey (Arrogate) and over 2,500 people now can claim they were part of a Triple Crown victory. MyRacehorse may be getting all the press, but the reality of the situation is it only provides a small fraction of the horses needed to fill races at the racetracks in the United States. When you zoom out and look at all the managed partnerships and...

The Minnesota Racing Commission voted Monday to approve historical horse racing at Canterbury Park and Running Aces, according to the Star-Tribune. The commission was not expected to make a decision at Monday's meeting, however, after more than 3 1/2 hours of discussion it voted 5-1 to approve HHR, effective May 21. "We are at a critical crossroads," Commissioner Raymond Dehn told the Star-Tribune. "There is a lot at stake." The Minnesota Indian Gaming Association (MIGA) and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC), which operates Mystic Lake Casino, both spoke against...

From bustling cities to quiet rural towns, the potential for achievement and success knows no geographical boundaries. The same goes for Thoroughbred racing partnerships. Successful partnerships are not always born on major circuits like Kentucky, New York, or California. Sometimes they are born in a barn just south of a rural town in Minnesota called Elko New Market. For Rocket Wrench Racing's managing partner Justin Revak, what started out as a dream one summer while stomping divots on Canterbury Park's turf course has developed into a partnership group on a...

A proposed entertainment complex to be built outside the first turn at Canterbury Park will feature a "high-end" restaurant, a music venue, and an outdoor bar and patio with a games area and fire pit, according to plans filed with the Shakopee, Minnesota, planning commission. The two facilities on the 15-acre site, to be known as "Boardwalk Kitchen & Bar" and "Stables," will be right up against the outer rail with an up-close view of the action when Canterbury's season runs between May and September. But despite the desirable location...