‘Unsafe’ tracks force Canterbury to cancel last 10 races of ’23

The final program of Canterbury Park’s 53-day season ended abruptly after the running of the third race, because jockeys deemed both the dirt and turf racing surfaces unsafe.

Rain in the Shakopee, Minn., area during the preceding 24 hours soaked the tracks. The riders originally refused to race on the main track and agreed the remaining races following the first two over the turf could be moved to the grass course.

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Races 1 and 2 originally were scheduled for the turf and were run over a yielding course. The third race, carded for the main track, was transferred.

After the running of the third, the jockeys determined that course, too, was not safe, and the 10 remaining races were canceled.

The $50,000 Tom Metzen Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association Sprint and the $50,000 Shakopee Juvenile were among the 10 canceled races.

With the early end came the crowning of meet titlists. Harry Hernández with 51 wins was the leading Thoroughbred rider for the second consecutive season. Joel Berndt won the Thoroughbred training title with 52 Lothenbach Stables, owned by Bob Lothenbach, won 48 races and $1,223,352 in purse money. This was the fourth consecutive title for Lothenbach.

Doctor Oscar, owned by Pete Mattson and trained by Tim Padilla, was voted horse of the meet. The 4-year-old Minnesota-bred colt won three races from four starts including the 10,000 Lakes Stakes, the Crocrock Minnesota Sprint Championship and an open-company, allowance race.