Canterbury Park's Festival of Champions Sees Record Crowd

The nineteenth running of the Festival of Champions – a day reserved for the best Minnesota-breds in the state – showcased some familiar faces on Sunday at in front of a Festival-record crowd of 17,053. The crowd, the largest of the season, was the fourth largest in Canterbury Park history.

Seven-time leading thoroughbred trainer Mac Robertson and jockey Tanner Riggs emphatically stamped their places in Canterbury’s record book sweeping the $50,000 Minnesota Distaff Classic Championship and the $50,000 Minnesota Classic Championship with Congrats and Roses and Coconino Slim, respectively. Additionally, Nomorewineforeddie etched his place in Canterbury Park lore by capturing his third consecutive Minnesota Sprint Championship while Sugar Business set a new stake record in the Northern Lights Futurity.

Coconino Slim, owned by Catherine DeCourcy of Sunfish Lake, Minn., won the Minnesota Classic in front-running fashion, never relinquishing the lead throughout the 1/ 1-16 mile race under jockey Tanner Riggs and stopping the clock in 1:44.28. He finished two lengths to the good of the second-place finisher Samendra but wasn’t seriously threatened in the stretch. The $30,000 winner’s share pushes Coconino Slim’s career earnings to $99,160. Coconino Slim returned $4.20 as the wagering favorite. The victory was his first stakes win.

Immediately following Coconino Slim’s victory, Congrats and Roses won the Minnesota Distaff Classic for the Malkerson Stables of Shakopee, Minn. Like Slim, Congrats and Roses won on the front end; however, she dominated winning by 11½ lengths. The $30,000 winner’s share pushed her career earnings to $89,807. She covered the 1/ 1-16 miles in 1:45.78 and returned $9.80.

As they were on Festival Day, Robertson and Riggs have been a deadly combination all summer at Canterbury combining to win 25 of 73 races together throughout the 2012 season. Robertson is in the midst of running off with his eighth consecutive leading trainer title as he is 18 wins ahead of second-place trainer Bernell Rhone entering the final day of the meet. Riggs, who first rode at Canterbury as an apprentice rider in 2006, all but clinched his first Canterbury Park riding title as he sits seven victories to the good of three-time-defending champion rider Dean Butler. Riggs has nine mounts on the Labor Day card while Butler rides eight.

Nomorewineforeddie wrote his way into Festival history by winning his third consecutive $50,000 Minnesota Sprint Championship for trainer Bruce Riecken and owner Anthony Didier of David City, Neb. Under jockey Dean Butler, the six-year-old son of Scrimshaw engaged in an early pace duel and put away his rivals to win by a widening 6½ lengths. With the victory, Nomorewineforeddie became just the fourth horse in Minnesota racing history to win the same Festival of Champions race three consecutive years. The $30,000 earnings pushed his career mark to $226,419 from 27 starts.

Sugar Business set a new stakes record in the $65,000 Northern Lights Futurity completing the six furlong juvenile race in 1:10.32. It was the fastest time in the race’s 28 year history, demolishing the previous record of 1:10.77 set by Careless Navigator in 2004. Derek Bell was aboard the two-year-old Tony Rengstorf trainee for owner Curt Sampson of Hector, Minn. Sugar Business was bred by Astar Thoroughbreds of Hastings, Minn.

Ed Ross Hardy continued his quarter horse dominance winning both the $23,350 Minnesota Quarter Horse Futurity and $22,400 Minnesota Quarter Horse Derby. Fly Eyeann secured a narrow victory in the Futurity under Riggs after overcoming trouble at the start while Western Fun won the Derby with a clean trip from the inside. Hardy now leads all quarter horse trainers with 16 Festival of Champions victories.

Badge of Glory won the $65,000 Northern Lights Debutante in slick style cruising to a two-length victory for Richard Bremer and Cheryl Sprick of Lake City, Minn. Scott Stevens was aboard the winner for trainer Bernell Rhone.

Polar Plunge put a cherry on top of a terrific weekend for her owner winning the $50,000 Minnesota Distaff Sprint for Cam Casby of Shakopee, Minn. Earlier this weekend, Casby was inducted into the track’s Hall of Fame.

On-track wagering for the 11-race card totaled $432,978, an increase of 17% compared to 2011 when 10 races were contested. The on-track handle was the largest for the Festival of Champions since 2006 when $472,890 was wagered.

(Information provided by Canterbury Park.)