Canterbury Park () (formerly Canterbury Downs), is a horse racing track in

Shakopee, Minnesota Shakopee ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Minnesota, United States. It is located southwest of Minneapolis. Sited on the south bank bend of the Minnesota River, Shakopee and nearby suburbs comprise the southwest portion of ...

, United States. Canterbury Park Holding Corporation ("Canterbury Park") hosts parimutuel wagering on live thoroughbred and quarter horse racing at its facilities in Shakopee and parimutuel wagering on races held at out-of-state racetracks that are simulcast to the racetrack. In addition, the Canterbury Park Card Casino operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is also regulated by the Minnesota Racing Commission. Casino games include blackjack, baccarat, Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em and poker. Canterbury Park also derives revenue from related services and activities, such as concessions, parking, admissions and programs, and from other entertainment events held at the racetrack. Furthermore, Canterbury Park is pursuing a strategy to enhance shareholder value by developing approximately 140 acres of underutilized land surrounding the racetrack in a project known as Canterbury Commons. The company is pursuing several mixed-use development opportunities for the underutilized land, directly and through joint ventures. Canterbury Park has hosted the Claiming Crown of horseracing for all but four years since its inception in 1999. The inaugural Mystic Lake Derby, offering the largest purse at the track since 1991, was run on July 28, 2012. The race was won by the 3-year-old Hammers Terror in a time of 1:37.18 over the one-mile

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...

event. The park also includes a card club. A two-week series of poker tournaments, ''Fall Poker Classic'', is held each fall at Canterbury Park.

History

Canterbury Downs was founded by Walter Brooks Fields Jr., and other investors. According to David Miller of the ''

Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of raceh ...

'', "Fields, along with his nephew Brooks Hauser, formed Minnesota Racetrack Inc. after a constitutional amendment allowing parimutuel wagering on horse racing was approved by Minnesota voters in 1982. Naming Santa Anita as its primary partner, Minnesota Racetrack Inc. was awarded the state's first racetrack license by the Minnesota Racing Commission and the facility in Shakopee held its first race on June 26, 1985. The introduction of the state's lottery and the widespread growth of casino gaming at Native American-hosted facilities in the area saw Canterbury Downs business repeatedly fall below revenue projections, and the track was sold in 1990 to Ladbroke Racing PLC." In 1990, Ladbroke Racing Corporation bought Canterbury and renamed it New Canterbury Downs. In December 1992, it closed its doors after a disastrous live racing season that saw an enormous drop in attendance. In late 1993, Canterbury was bought by Irwin L. Jacobs, who quickly sold it to Curtis and Randy Sampson. Shortly after the sale, the Sampsons worked to revitalize Canterbury, so that it reopened its doors to

simulcasting Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

, and it quickly paid off its debt. In late 1994, Canterbury carried out a promise to return live horse racing to Minnesota. In January 1995, Canterbury Downs officially changed its name to Canterbury Park. In 1999 the legislature authorized a card room with poker tables at Canterbury Park. This had the effect of allowing poker tables at the state's Indian tribe casinos as well. Due to the

2011 Minnesota state government shutdown The 2011 Minnesota state government shutdown was a government shutdown affecting the U.S. state of Minnesota. The shutdown was the result of a fiscal dispute between the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) Governor Mark Dayton and the Republ ...

, Canterbury was forced to close. Ramsey County District Judge Kathleen Gearin rejected a court case by Canterbury's owners to reopen it. Canterbury Park reopened on July 20, 2011, when the government shutdown ended. In June 2012, Canterbury Park and the

Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) (Dakota: ''Bdemayaṭo Oyate'') is a federally recognized, sovereign Indian tribe of Mdewakanton Dakota people, located southwest of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, within parts of the cities of Prior ...

, owners and operators of Mystic Lake Casino, announced a 10-year cooperative marketing and purse enhancement agreement that will add $75 million to horsemen purses. Canterbury Park also hosts corgi dog races, wiener dog races, and the annual Running of the Bulldogs. Staff members include KFAN radio personality and Vikings announcer Paul Allen and FOX Sports North commentator Kevin Gorg. In 2019, Canterbury Park was the site of the

Twin Cities Summer Jam Twin Cities Summer Jam was a music festival in Shakopee, Minnesota that took place each year in July at Canterbury Park. Twin Cities Summer Jam was founded in 2018 as the first multi-day, multi-genre music festival in the Twin Cities, MN metr ...

References

External links

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Canterbury Park Card Club Review
{{Authority control Horse racing venues in Minnesota Buildings and structures in Scott County, Minnesota Casinos in Minnesota Sports venues in Minneapolis–Saint Paul 1985 establishments in Minnesota Tourist attractions in Scott County, Minnesota Companies listed on the Nasdaq Sports venues completed in 1985