Canterbury Park
Canterbury Park is a horse racing track located in Shakopee, Minnesota, USA.
It runs a meet that consists of 69 racing days from early May to Labor Day, generally holding scheduled races Thursday through Sunday, with racing added on several holidays throughout the meet.
The track itself features a one mile oval dirt track and a seven furlong turf course. Outside seating is available along with several indoor seating options. The track runs multiple food stands and bars throughout the building and simulcast betting is also offered.
The park also includes a card club The poker room has 34 tables and spreads games of primarily Texas Hold’em. The facility is open 24 hours per day, but when horse racing is not occurring, only the card club is open.
Canterbury has been the host of the Claiming Crown all but two years since its inception in 1999. A movement to add slot machines and video poker to the mix has been active for several years but has been met with some opposition. The so called “Racino” concept is still on the drawing board and little action was seen on the issue during the 2006 legislative session.
History
Canterbury opened in 1985 under the name Canterbury Downs after Minnesotans voted to allow pari-mutuel betting in the state. In 1990, Canterbury was bought by Ladbroke Racing Corporation and was renamed New Canterbury Downs. In December of 1992, it closed its doors for unspecified reasons. In late 1993, Canterbury was bought by Irwin 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, and it quickly removed itself from debt. In late 1994, Canterbury carried through on a promise to return live horse racing to Minnesota. In January of 1995, Canterbury Downs officially changed its name to Canterbury Park.
