Canterbury Park reports near-full stall allocations, lower purses and summer events as racing season nears

At a Racing Commission meeting in Saint Paul, Canterbury Park representatives told commissioners they have received strong stall requests for the coming harness-racing season but expect slightly lower purses than last year.

The park reported applications from 59 trainers and "we had about 1,100 stalls requested for horses, which is just a slight deeply decrease of last year, and we've allocated just under 1,100 stalls," a Canterbury Park speaker said during the meeting. Commissioners were told there are 51 race days scheduled this season, down from 54 in 2024.

The updates outlined a mix of operational and commercial changes ahead of opening day. Canterbury staff said they expect to open a newly built RV park—part of a roughly $12,000,000 barn/backside renovation—early in the week following the meeting. The park will offer electrical and sewer hookups intended for horsemen and their crews.

Park representatives also previewed the Minnesota Horse Expo, which will be held at Canterbury while State Fairgrounds renovations continue. The expo is scheduled for a Friday–Sunday run next weekend and park staff said they expect sizable public attendance; park materials circulated to the commission projected about 20,000 attendees.

Park management described changes to the incentive and shipping-assistance programs for trainers. The commission was told last year’s larger direct-cash incentive was scaled back; this season Canterbury reverted to a loan-style program for shipping support, with more targeted or limited incentives than in 2024.

Officials discussed a planned Minnesota Thoroughbred sale at Canterbury. Park staff said they are accepting consignments now and expect to proceed if at least about 20 horses apply; a tentative sale date mentioned during the meeting was Sunday, Aug. 24.

Park staff also updated commissioners on facility renovations and guest amenities completed for the season, including a larger video wall and reconfigured bar and dining spaces. A park representative said there remain a small number of construction items that will continue into June but that the venue will be ready for racing.

Context for finances and purses came up several times. Commission staff and park representatives said average purses are down from last year and that the commission and the park are watching legislative and gaming-policy developments—particularly proposals tied to ADW (advance-deposit wagering) assessments and sports-betting allocations—for any potential revenue that could restore or increase purse levels.

Commissioners were told the park has guaranteed a late pick-four carryover prize of $3,000 per race night under current wagering plans and that the park is monitoring other tracks’ incentive experiments as it considers future program design.

Quotes, details and program numbers in this article are drawn from commission meeting remarks and packet materials presented during the meeting.

The racing season was described repeatedly as imminent. One commission speaker summarized the timing: "we're sitting here about 37 days from racing," noting there is an intensive final push to hire seasonal staff and finalize barn and stall assignments before opening week.