Canterbury Park will wrap up a 65-day live racing season this week with three days of thoroughbred racing. Several season titles are still up for grabs at the Shakopee track, which already has pulled in more than $85 million in total wagering this summer — smashing the Canterbury Park record set last year.
When: Tuesday and Wednesday, first post 5 p.m.; Thursday, first post 4 p.m.
Tickets: General admission is free for the final three days of racing. Tickets can be reserved at www.canterburypark.com.
The schedule: Tuesday's card includes nine races, and Wednesday's card offers 12. Thursday's 13-race season finale is highlighted by the $50,000 Tom Metzen HBPA Stakes and the $50,000 Shakopee Juvenile.
The filly Summer Lightning, a 5-2 morning-line favorite, heads a field of nine in the Juvenile. Locamotor is the top choice in the Metzen HBPA Stakes, which drew six entries. Large fields are expected for the three final days, with 326 horses entered in the 34 races.
Season titles on the line: Last year, Joel Berndt was Canterbury's top thoroughbred trainer, ending 15 years of supremacy by Mac Robertson and Robertino Diodoro. Things have returned to form this summer, with the two heavyweights in close contention for the crown.
Robertson leads the trainer's race with 56 victories, three more than Diodoro. Berndt is a distant third with 36 wins. Over the final three days of racing, Robertson has 35 horses entered, while Diodoro has 17.
Robertson has won 12 Canterbury training titles outright and tied Diodoro for the championship in 2018.
