Canterbury Park: A Guide to the Lowest Takeout Meet of the Year
This post was originally published on my personal blog at Equinometry.com and is being republished here in order to make sure the maximum number of horse players are aware of the positive decisions made by the Canterbury Park track management team.
Canterbury Park made headlines this spring when it was announced the track would be offering the lowest overall takeout of any track in North America during its 2016 meet, which runs from May 20th to September 17th.
The takeout rate structure is simple: 15% on Win, Place and Show pools and 18% on everything else.
In addition to this player friendly change the management at Canterbury Park showed a willingness to listen to the horse player community by quickly nixing a jackpot Pick 5.
These changes have boosted Canterbury Park in the annual HANA track ratings for 2016 from 29th all the up to 6th.
Canterbury Park, like Kentucky Downs, has decided to put their customers first and has provided us (horse players) with the opportunity to show the entire horse racing industry that takeout rates matter.
This could be the tipping point that determines whether takeout rates stay the same or decrease in the coming years.
It is our responsibility to support tracks that put the horse player first.
I know that you may have rarely, if ever bet Canterbury Park so I looked at the past three meets (2013 - 2015) and complied the information I think will help you (and me) succeed when betting their races this year.
The Track Profiles
Canterbury Park runs races over a dirt main track that is 1 mile in circumference and a turf course that is 7 furlongs in circumference.
Dirt races over the past three meets were carded at distances ranging from 2 furlongs to 1 1/16 miles and turf races were carded at distances from 5 furlongs to 1 3/8 miles.
Dirt Track
Like most dirt tracks in North America speed is the universal bias on the Canterbury main track, especially in one turn races.
550/910 (60%) races run between 5 furlongs and 6 1/2 furlongs were won by horses within 1 length of the lead after the first 1/4 mile.
Interestingly of those winners only 241/550 (26%) wired the field.
Being on the lead is not necessary in the one turn dirt races but being close is and that is even more apparent when realizing that 83% of the winners were in the top half of the field after the first 1/4 mile.
Route races on the dirt track were more fair but still gave an edge to horses on or near the lead.
In the 310 two turn dirt races 42% were won by horses that were within 1 length of the lead after the first 1/2 mile.
Only 20% of the winners wired the field and 65% were in the top half of the field after the first 1/2 mile.
Overall the dirt track is slightly more speed favoring in one turn races than the average North American track and average in two turn races.
Turf Course
The turf course at Canterbury Park is much less friendly overall to early speed than the dirt track.
In the 26 turf sprints carded during the last three meets 10 were won by "E" type horses and 11 were won by "P" type horses (between 1 1/4 length and 3 lengths of the leader after the first 1/4 mile).
In those same races 69% of the winners were in the top half of the field after the opening 1/4 mile.
In route races (7 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/16 miles) 45% of the races (168/376) were won by "S" type horses (more than 3 lengths behind the leader after the opening 1/2 mile).
Interestingly only 40% of the winners were in the bottom half of the field after the opening 1/2 mile.
Post Positions
Both the dirt track and turf course allow fields of up to 14 horses to participate in the races but only 9 races have had more than 12 horses during the last three meets.
Dirt Track
In sprint races on the dirt posts 1 through 10 provide no advantage or disadvantage with win percentages ranging from 11-16%.
Posts 11 through 14, however are a major disadvantage producing only 3 winners from 133 starters (2%).
Route races were equally fair and although none of the 5 horses breaking from post 12 won 2 of the 13 breaking from post 11 did.
Turf Course
In the limited number of turf sprints since 2013 the inside two posts accounted for 11/26 winners (42%) while posts 9 through 12 produced on 2 winners from 32 starters (6%).
Turf routes were also fair to most post positions but it was a slight disadvantage to be outside of post 8 as posts 9 through 12 won at only 8% versus the 11.5% of posts 1 through 8.
The Trainers
During the past three meets 210 trainers have started at least one horse at Canterbury Park and 142 have won at least one race.
McLean Robertson and Robertino Diodoro led the way with 128 and 106 wins respectively and both also cracked the top 10 in win percentage.
The top 10 trainers by number of wins since 2013 are as follows.
- McLean Robertson - 128
- Robertino Diordoro - 106
- Bernell Rhone - 87
- Michael Biehler - 76
- Miguel Silva - 71
- Gary Scherer - 62
- Francisco Bravo - 61
- Valorie Lund - 57
- Clay Brinson - 54
- Tony Rengstorf - 51
The top 10 trainers by win percentage (minimum 20 starters) since 2013 are as follows.
- Vincent Reedy - 32% (7/22)
- David Wolochuk - 30% (14/46)
- Tom Amoss - 30% (26/87)
- Roger Brueggemann - 26% (28/109)
- Mike Chambers - 24% (35/145)
- Dallas Keen - 24% (23/96)
- Shannon Ritter - 22% (7/32)
- Robertino Diodoro - 22% (106/491)
- McLean Robertson - 21% (128/605)
- Francisco Bravo - 20% (61/303)
The top 10 trainers by $2 R.O.I. (minimum 20 starters) since 2013 are as follows.
- Lonnie Arterburn - $2.97
- Joe Offolter - $2.71
- Randy Rarick - $2.50
- David McShane - $2.49
- Fidel Sanchez - $2.49
- Tyrone Shaw - $$2.44
- Shannon Ritter - $2.40
- Vincent Reedy - $2.40
- James Robertson - $2.36
- Three tied at $2.35
The Jockeys
During the past three meets at Canterbury Park 100 different jockeys have had at least one mount and 67 of them won at least one race.
Dean Butler led the pack with 206 wins during that period from 1,056 mounts for a 20% win percentage.
The top 10 jockeys by number of wins since 2013 are as follows.
- Dean Butler - 206
- Alex Canchari - 141
- Ry Eikleberry - 141
- Eddie Martin Jr. - 96
- Leandro Goncalves - 84 (all in 2015)
- Denny Velazquez - 81
- Jorge Carreno - 72
- Geovanni Franko-Angeles - 72
- Lori Keith - 63
- Scott Stevens - 59
The top 10 jockeys by win percentage (minimum 20 mounts) since 2013 are as follows.
- Leandro Goncalves - 24% (84/346)
- Dean Butler - 20% (206/1,056)
- Alex Canchari - 19% (141/751)
- Derek Bell - 17% (32/193)
- Geovanni Franko-Angeles - 16% (72/438)
- Ry Eikleberry - 16% (141/889)
- Brittany Rhone - 16% (7/45)
- Justin Shepherd - 15% (51/345)
- Jorge Carreno - 15% (72/496)
- Four tied at 14%
The top 10 jockeys by $2 R.O.I. (minimum 20 mounts) since 2013 are as follows.
- Brittany Rhone - $2.69
- Erick Lopez - $2.56
- Jenna Joubert - $2.49
- Ken Shino - $2.42
- Israel Hernandez - $2.16
- Jennifer Reid - $2.11
- Justin Shepherd - $2.10
- Leandro Goncalves - $2.06
- Paul Nolan - $1.96
- Alex Canchari - $1.94
The Wagering Menu
The Canterbury Park wagering menu consists of Win, Place, Show, Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta, Super High Five, Daily Double, Pick Three and Pick Four.
Win, Place, Show
As mentioned above the takeout rate on the Win, Place and Show pools is 15%.
During the last three meets the average $2 win mutuel was $12.09 and the median $2 win mutuel was $8.00.
Favorites won 690/1942 races for a strike rate of 36%.
Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta, Super High Five
The takeout rate on all exotic wagers is 18%.
The minimum wagering amount for the Exacta is $1.00, for the Trifecta and Super High Five is $0.50 and for the Superfecta is $0.10.
From 2013 through 2015 the average and median $2 returns were as follows.
- Exacta - $80.19 (avg) / $36.70 (med)
- Trifecta - $624.81 / $170.60
- Superfecta - $3,762.22 / $833.40
The Super High Five is being added to the wagering menu for the first time this meet.
Daily Double, Pick Three, Pick Four
The minimum wagering amount for the Daily Double is $1.00 and for the Pick Three and Pick Four is $0.50.
From 2013 through 2015 the average and median $2 returns were as follows.
- Daily Double - $70.95 (avg) / $35.30 (med)
- Pick Three - $479.24 / $189.20
- Pick Four - $3,821.83 / $1,136.40
With the takeout rate dropping from 17% to 15% on Win, Place and Show bets and from 23% to 18% on most of the exotics it is logical to conclude the average and median returns for the pools listed above should increase.
For example using the new 18% takeout rate the average Exacta would have been $85.40 versus the $80.19 and the average Pick Three would have been $510.36 versus the $479.24.
Consider Canterbury Park Whenever You Bet This Summer
The bottom line is Canterbury Park is giving horse players the platform to voice their opinion on lower takeout rates.
From now until the end of the meet in mid-September I urge you to consider the Canterbury Park cards whenever you decide to play the races.
Every dollar you wager there instead of on another track will be a vote for lower takeout rates.
If we can push their wagering handle upward this year it will put Canterbury Park on the same path as Kentucky Downs.
The higher wagering handle in conjunction with the alternative gaming revenue will result in increased purses which will attract higher quality horses and larger fields.
It will be a win-win for everyone involved.
This post provided a decent amount of information to help you get started but if you want more information be sure to head over to Equinometry.com and enter your email address in the box at the top of the sidebar.
I am putting together a free guide for the Canterbury Park meet that has even more detailed information that I will be sending out to all those on the email list in the next few days so do not miss out.