Canterbury Park's richest race of the season, the $200,000 Mystic Lake Derby, will be run Saturday evening as the fourth race on a nine- race program that begins at 6 p.m. Eleven 3-year-olds are entered for the one-mile turf race.
Giant Payday, the 7 to 2 morning line favorite, will start from post position No. 9 and will be ridden by Chris Landeros for trainer Ian Wilkes.
The Mystic Lake Derby also will include Hot Shot Kid, who has won five consecutive races.
U assistant AD leaving
Gophers senior associate athletic director Ayo Taylor-Dixon announced he has accepted a similar job at Georgia Tech. Taylor-Dixon, hired by interim AD Beth Goetz in March 2016, oversaw Gophers athletics marketing, ticket sales and service and licensing.
Taylor-Dixon was the lone minority among top assistants under Minnesota AD Mark Coyle. There are two other minorities on the broader, 17-member Gophers sports administration team. The Gophers have no minority head coaches. A Star Tribune story published in July found Minnesota to be near the bottom of the Big Ten in athletics diversity.
Taylor-Dixon's title at Georgia Tech will be senior associate athletic director for external operations.
Etc.
• Northwestern (St. Paul), which is ranked a program-high No. 4 in the AVCA's NCAA Division III poll, is the unanimous pick to win the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference volleyball title in a preseason conference coaches' poll.
• The 2017 Roy Griak Invitational Hall of Fame class of four was announced. They are Dan Dornfeld (USATF Minnesota), Don Fritsch (Wis.-La Crosse), Nic Matack (Duluth East High School), and Kendall (Wheeler) Schoolmeester (Duluth East). All have made key contributions to one of the nation's top cross-country events and will be honored during the 32nd annual Griak Invitational on Sept. 23.
