Canterbury Park’s request for a 65-day 2022 thoroughbred and quarter horse racing season, Wednesday, May 18 through Saturday, Sept. 17, was unanimously approved Thursday by the Minnesota Racing Commission. The Shakopee, Minn. racetrack will conduct a Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday schedule with racing also conducted on Monday, July 4.
Post time on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays will be 5:00 p.m. CDT while Sundays and July 4 racing will begin at 1:00 p.m. On Sunday, July 3, racing will begin at 4:00 p.m. The 2022 schedule also includes a nine-day break from July 18 through July 26 to accommodate Twin Cities Summer Jam, an annual multi-day music festival held in the racetrack infield.
In 2021, all-sources wagering reached a record $90.9 million with racing conducted Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons, surpassing the $68.4 million record set in 2020 when 53 days of racing were conducted. Tuesday racing will be replaced with Saturday evening racing programs in the coming season in an effort to build on the on-track success, and maintain the more recent off-track wagering levels, experienced on Sundays in 2021 when crowds returned to pre-pandemic numbers while off-track handle averaged $894,736, nearly triple the 2019 figure. From 2015 through 2019, average daily attendance exceeded 6,500 with heavily promoted days often surpassing 18,000.
Purses are projected to reach $15 million, exceeding $230,000 per day. The 2022 thoroughbred and quarter horse stakes schedules will be announced in early January with stall applications, full details of Canterbury Park’s shipping incentive programs and the first condition book available shortly thereafter. The Canterbury Park stable area, which can accommodate more than 1,400 racehorses, will open Wednesday, April 27.
(info and photos courtesy of Canterbury Park)
