Canterbury Park Opens 2017 Season May 5

By Daniel Adams

Canterbury Park will open its 67-day live horse racing meet May 5, marking the first time Canterbury has opened on Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) weekend since 2008. 

That year fans filled the grandstand, mezzanine, and clubhouse as attendance soared over 18,000. This year Canterbury's opening day coincides with Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) day at Churchill Downs. It gives the crowd a chance to place their Kentucky Derby bets early while enjoying live racing with a late afternoon post-time of 4 p.m. 

In 2012 Canterbury Park and Mystic Lake Casino entered into a cooperative marketing agreement that helped enhance purses at Canterbury. It has more than doubled the average purses per year from $6.4 million in 2011 to more than $14 million in 2017. 

As part of the marketing agreement Mystic Lake Casino and Hotel will pay more than $13.4 million over the ten years of the agreement to Canterbury as the companies jointly market one another at both sites. This year the agreement has allocated about $7.1 million in purse supplements, roughly a $400,000 increase from 2016. 

With the continued growth on the horse racing side of things, attendance numbers have continued to be some of the best in the country. It has led to Canterbury Park open its infield to attract more customers. It will host a number of events throughout the season including the Beer, Burger, and Bacon Festival Aug. 5 according to

Media Relations Manager, Jeff Maday. Last Summer the construction crew laid out the groundwork and filled in one of the infield ponds with dirt, and prepared it for the 2017 season. The first event is scheduled to happen on May 20.

There are some changes to the wagering menu for the upcoming season. Canterbury has ended its Turf Top 5 bet that was a pentafecta in all turf races. It has added a Final 5 wager. It is a Jackpot Pick 5 on the final five races of each race day. 

Last year, Canterbury lowered its takeouts to the lowest in the country. Although there was an increase in wagers throughout the summer, it wasn't enough to offset the losses it took by lowering the takeout. Therefore, the 2017 season will see a slight increase in the takeout percentage on base wagers and a moderate increase on exotic wagers. Win, place, and show wagers will have a takeout of 17%. Exotics have a takeout of 23%.