BIG YEAR, BIG WEEKEND

A year after it signed a purse-enhancement agreement with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, Canterbury Park has seen increases in attendance, handle and horses per race. Here's how the numbers stack up through the first 30 days of the 69-day racing season. All handle and attendance figures are daily averages.

Att.On-track live handleOut-of-state handle Total live handle Total pursesStarters per race

20136,306$194,012$323,562$517,575$5,241,0158.08

20126,176$181,240$241,205$422,446$4,432,1427.33

% change2.17.034.122.518.310.2

*2012 figures reflect 29 racing days; July 4 racing was canceled because of extreme heat.

Canterbury Park will hold three of its richest stakes races Saturday. The 10-race card begins at 1:30 p.m. and includes:

• The inaugural running of the $125,000 Mystic Lake Mile, a turf race that offers the second-largest purse of the season. The morning-line favorite in the field of 12 is Mister Marti Gras, a graded-stakes winner with lifetime earnings of $840,554.

• The $100,000 Lady Canterbury, a 1-mile turf race. Hooh Why, a Grade 1 winner with more than $1.2 million in earnings, heads a 12-horse field.

• The $54,100 Minnesota Quarter Horse Derby. The 10 entries are topped by Hr Money Maker and First Prize Wagon, saddled by leading trainer Stacy Charette-Hill.