Canterbury Park Mid-Season Facts and Figures

The live racing season has nearly reached the half-way point with 29 days of racing remaining and 25 complete. A nine-day break is underway with racing resuming July 24. The product certainly has been competitive with just 32 percent of wagering favorites winning in contrast to last year when that number was 45 percent or higher. All-sources live handle is up 15 percent compared to last year with on- track handle flat and off-track showing the largest increase.

There have been 690 unique starters running in a total of 199 races of which 182 were thoroughbred races and 17 quarter horse. Average field size for thoroughbred races is 7.15 starters per race, an increase over 2023.

A total of 34 horses have been claimed for $366,000. The largest price paid for a single claim was $30,000 for Angel’s Magic by owner Carin Offerman. Trainer Jose Silva, Jr. has been most active,

claiming seven horses, four for owner Johnny Taboada who is tied for leading owner. Taboada has lost four horse to claims. Rocket Wrench Racing LLC leads all owners, making five claims. Rocket Wrench also lost two horses to claims.

The largest $2 win payout occurred June 29 when Virtually, with Kelsi Harr aboard, paid $102. The 5-year-old is trained by Stetson Rushton. That began a sequence that resulted in the largest Pick 3 payout of the meet: $15,201.70. Harr won the next race on Outlaw Run at 35 to 1. The Virtually/Outlaw Run $2 double paid a Canterbury record $4,067.20.

The highwater mark for Pick 5 payout was June 8 with the 50-cent base wager returning $35,735.40.

The lowest return on a $2 win wager happened last weekend, July 13, when Xtreme Diva trounced foes and paid $2.10.

Inside speed on the main track has ruled as is customary, especially in sprints. Early speed types, those on or within a length of the lead early, have won 67 percent of sprints.

Luis Fuentes has been atop the thoroughbred jockey standings for most of the meet. With 37 wins he holds a seven-win advantage over Eduardo Gallardo. Both riders are winning at a 26% rate. Third in the standings with 24 wins is apprentice rider Serafin Carmona who last Saturday on Hall of Fame Night won five races. Carmona has been traveling to Horseshoe Indianapolis to ride on Canterbury dark days. On Monday he won his first race at the suburban Indianapolis racetrack.

Carmona’a average win payout is $9.60. He has ridden the favorite 28 times and has won half of those races. Fuentes has been aboard the chalk 46 times and won at a 35 percent rate. Flying slightly under the radar is a new face in the colony, Fausto Da Silva. He has 19 wins with an average return of $10.10. His mount was bet to favoritism 17 times and won seven times, a 41 percent hit rate.

Leading quarter rider Armando Alvidrez has six wins and five seconds from 13 starts and has earned nearly twice as much in purses as any other rider. He is the go-to jockey for leading trainer Jason Olmstead who is on his way to a tenth consecutive quarter horse training title. Olmstead has eight wins. Tyler Stein has four.

Mac Robertson is the leading thoroughbred trainer. He won 11 races in the first two weeks of July alone and has a total of 19 for the season, seven more than Silva, Jr.

Taboada is tied for top owner with Vicki McGowans’s Xtreme Racing Stables, LLC. Both have won six times. Xtreme made three visits to the winner’s circle on Hall of Fame Night.

Entries will be taken this Friday for the July 24 and July 25 programs.

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