Canterbury Park Furloughs 850 Employees

Canterbury Park Holding Corporation, which owns and operates Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minn., announced April 1 it has temporarily furloughed approximately 850 employees, citing the facility's suspended operations because of COVID-19. The company said it will "operate with a significantly reduced staff of key personnel," all of whom are subject to salary reductions until operations are normalized.

"Since suspending all operations at Canterbury Park on March 16, 2020, we have acted aggressively to preserve cash by reducing our operating expenses, suspending or delaying our 2020 planned capital expenditures, and suspending our quarterly cash dividend," said Randy Sampson, Canterbury Park's president and CEO. "The additional actions we are implementing today are the hardest we have ever had to make, given the impact on our dedicated employees for whom this situation is beyond our collective control. While this was an extremely difficult decision to make, the board of directors and I remain committed to taking the necessary actions that help ensure our employees' health and safety as well as the company's long-term future. 

"We continue to work closely with (Minnesota) Gov. (Tim) Walz, the Minnesota Department of Health, and other government entities and will seek their guidance on when Canterbury Park can reopen so that our team members' way of life can get back to normal. We look forward to seeing our dedicated team members return to Canterbury Park once we reopen." 

The furloughs at Canterbury follow temporary staff reductions at Penn National Gaming and Churchill Downs Inc. that were announced last month. All three companies are publicly traded.

Subsequent to Canterbury's March 16 voluntary suspension of business, Walz issued Emergency Executive Order 20-04 and subsequently Emergency Executive Order 20-18 causing the closure of bars, restaurants, and other public accommodations, including Canterbury Park, until May 1. Canterbury offers table games and poker in addition to horse racing.

Last month, Canterbury said it would delay the opening of its stable area to at least May 1. Its race meet is scheduled from May 15 through Sept. 12, though officials have acknowledged that maintaining their planned racing schedule is becoming increasingly unlikely.