Editor's note: The following is from a release from Canterbury Park.
Canterbury Park received approval from the Minnesota Racing Commission on Thursday to conduct a 69-day thoroughbred and quarter horse race meet in 2013. The meet will begin Friday, May 17 and run through Sept. 14. Thursday and Friday racing will begin at 7 p.m. with weekend and holiday racing beginning at 1:30 p.m.
Last week, Canterbury Park officials amended their original request for 68 days, adding one additional race day, which will make the 2013 season the longest since 2006 when an equal number of days were conducted. The Shakopee
racetrack conducted 62 days in 2012.
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In June, Canterbury Park and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community entered into a cooperative marketing and purse enhancement agreement that will inject $75 million into the horsemen purse fund over the agreement’s 10-year span. Projected purses for the 2013 season will show a 25-percent increase over 2012 and a nearly 100-percent increase over purses
offered in 2011. The 2013 stakes schedule and purse structure will be announced in early December.
“The impact of the SMSC agreement on racing in Minnesota was immediate,” Canterbury Park President Randy Sampson said. “Daily purses were up this past season and will grow again along with the number of race days. Our goal since 1995 has been to revive the state’s equine industry and we are now well on the way to reaching that goal.”