Canterbury Park's Festival of Champions day celebrates Minnesota-breds

The original Festival of Champions at Canterbury Park was in 1992. The hope was that it would provide an extension to the track's viable life. Instead, it turned into an ending … that turned into a new beginning.

Conceived of and put on by horse folks who were trying to save the track from closing, the first incarnation was by all accounts a rousing success. A massive crowd was on hand, and others watched on television.

"The theme was that if it was going to be the last day, we wanted to go out with a bang — big day, big purses, big crowd and a celebration of racing," said Randy Sampson, Canterbury's current president, who helped put on the initial festival. "All of that happened."

Unfortunately, they were also prescient: It was the last day of racing. Ladbroke Racing Corporation shut the doors after the 1992 program, and in 1993 there was no season.

Festival of Champions did, however, galvanize those in the state who loved racing.

"The group of horse owners and breeders banded together to figure out how to purchase the track and move forward, which led to us buying the track in 1994," Sampson said.

Festival of Champions — a day of racing that celebrates Minnesota-bred champions from throughout the year — was back up and running by 1995 and hasn't missed a year since. Sunday will mark the latest incarnation.

This year's event has an added promotion tied into track announcer Paul Allen, who is also the Vikings' radio play-by-play voice. A horse named "AP is Loose," named after a signature Allen call from a Vikings game, has turned into a champion, and there will be an Allen talking bobblehead given to the first 4,000 fans.

Smart marketing and some nice weather on key dates have put Canterbury in a good spot this year, Sampson said, with attendance and handle trending up from last year. Those who have visited the track in recent years also have noted an upgraded video board and more food and drink options.

"The bar has been raised," Sampson said, noting all the nice new sports facilities in the Twin Cities. "Expectations for everything from the entertainment experience to food and beverages have changed. It's not just hot dogs and peanuts. We've tried to be responsive to that."

The heart of the program, though, is still racing. It was the same a generation ago when Sampson and Co. came up with the Festival of Champions concept as a means to save the track. Both are still going strong.