Canterbury Park proposes 51-day horse racing season in 2025

Canterbury Park has requested a 51-day thoroughbred and quarter horse meet in 2025, down from 54 days in 2024.

The track said in a statement Wednesday that it had submitted the request to the Minnesota Racing Commission, which will consider it in its December meeting.

The season would run from May 24 through Sept. 20. Most racing would be on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, with starting times of 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays and 1 p.m. Sundays. Thursday racing is proposed for six dates: July 3, 10 and 24, Aug. 7 and 21 and Sept. 18; it would begin at 5 p.m.

A nine-day break from racing, July 14 to July 22, is proposed. The 2025 racing calendar would begin a week later than in 2024 and conclude a week earlier.

“We have proposed a calendar that works well for our horse population and offers multiple opportunities to enter and race,” company President Randy Sampson said. “We look to build on the success of last season with continued handle and field size growth.”

The 2024 meet included a 13 percent increase in betting handle and a 13 percent increase in thoroughbred field size over 2023. Canterbury Park remains hampered by the expiration in December 2022 of a decade-long deal with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community that led to a large drop in Canterbury’s purse fund in 2023 and subsequent lessened betting interest because of small race fields.