horse racing

The newborn colt might be the best athlete in Minnesota in no time.

The average attendance for the 62-day live racing season at the Shakopee racetrack was 6,595 -- a new record at Canterbury Park, the Shakopee Patch writes. That's up 7.3 percent compared to last summer -- which was 6 days shorter because of the state government shutdown. The amount of money wagered was also up 25 percent this year.

Canterbury Park offered its richest purse ever for a single race at the track on Saturday. The $161,000 Mystic Lake Derby was the first significant event since the horse track partnered with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. Last month, the owners of Mystic Lake Casino agreed to pay $75 million over the next decade to boost racing purses at Canterbury Park. In exchange, the racetrack will drop its longstanding push to add slot machines. Hammers Terror won the inaugural race, with jockey Lori Keith in the saddle.

The bargain calls for the tribe that operates neighboring Mystic Lake casino to pay Canterbury Park $75 million over 10 years. In return for that cash infusion to boost its purses, the Shakopee track will give up its long-running push for slot machines. The Running Aces harness racing track is not part of the deal and argued against it.

A Twin Cities company called Flair makes breathing strips that were worn by I'll Have Another in the horse's Kentucky Derby and Preakness victories. But they won't be part of his bid for the Triple Crown. The strips are banned by racing officials in the state of New York, where the Belmont Stakes are run.

The legislation will allow more card tables at Minnesota's two horse tracks and boost the betting limits. The deal also gives Minnesota's tribal casinos access to simulcast horse racing. The amendments are effective immediately.

The measure would allow race tracks to add more tables and higher stakes for card games such as blackjack and poker. Tribal-owned casinos would be allowed to simulcast horse races and take bets on them. It was a rare case of the tribes and racing industry both endorsing a bill.

Backers of a proposal to build a new racing center north of Hibbing say the track could host car, horse, and snowmobile races. They also think it would generate as many as 500 jobs. More details are expected Wednesday.

Minnesota has relatively low incidences of horse and jockey injuries at Canturbury Park according to an analysis by the New York Times. But other states with fewer regulations and bigger purses ballooned by slot machine gambling don't fare as well.

Minnesota Indian tribes have long opposed proposals to put casino gambling in race tracks. State Rep. Tim Kelly (R-Red Wing) now suggests having the tribes share in the revenue from slot machines, along with the state and the horse racing industry. "It may be just the perfect storm that everybody comes together," Kelly says.

The bill would allow the state's horse-racing tracks to add slot machines and other casino games. The bill's author, Republican Dave Senjem, says an estimated $130 million in annual revenue would go toward job creation and economic development, though he did leave open the possibility of tapping it for a Vikings stadium.

It looks like horse racing might return to Fargo as soon as this summer after being shut-down for two years because of major debt. Forum Communications reports the horse park has paid off several thousand dollars and found new revenue streams. The commission is set to discuss racing dates later this month.