Below is the text of a press release (8/31/17) from Canterbury Park outlining the purse increase of the Shakopee Juvenile to $75,000 and the addition of a $25,000 state bred bonus to the race.
Shakopee, Minn. — Canterbury Park racing officials today announced that the purse for the Sept. 16 Shakopee Juvenile Stakes will be increased to $75,000 from the originally announced $50,000. To encourage owners to enter state bred horses, a $25,000 bonus exclusively for horses foaled in Minnesota will also be added, making the sprint purse total $100,000 for Minnesota breds, the largest single-race purse offered to state bred horses at the Shakopee, Minn. racetrack. The Shakopee Juvenile, restricted to 2-year-olds, will be run at six furlongs on the main track.
“We have an exceptionally strong group of 2-year-old horses at Canterbury Park this season,” track president Randy Sampson said. “We want to entice them to race in the Shakopee Juvenile. Increasing the purse should also attract other trainers around the country with horses that have shown stakes potential.”
Amy’s Challenge, who won her lone start Aug. 6 by 16 1/2 lengths, earned a 91 Beyer Speed Figure, the largest awarded to a 2-year-old in North America. The Beyer Speed Figure, found in Daily Racing Form, is a numerical representation of a horse’s performance and is widely accepted by the racing public as a gauge of ability. Mac Robertson, who trains the filly for Joseph Novogratz of Eden Prairie, Minn., has indicated that Amy’s Challenge will next start in the Shakopee Juvenile in preparation for the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades Stakes on Oct. 6 at Keeneland.
Last Friday, Soul of Discretion won by 13 lengths in his first start and earned an 85 Beyer, making him one of the 12 fastest 2-year-olds racing. Earlier in the Canterbury meet, Mr. Jagermeister, a Minnesota bred, was an impressive winner in his debut and was assigned an 81 Beyer. He since has won the $85,000 Northern Lights Futurity at Canterbury.
“The $75,000 base purse will put us roughly in line with other 2-year-old races in the region and at similar venues during September,” Sampson said.
The Arlington-Washington Futurity and Arlington-Washington Lassie at Arlington Park, and the Kip Deville Stakes at Remington Park each offer $75,000 purses for 2-year-old sprint stakes.
Sept. 16 will be the fifth running of the Shakopee Juvenile. In 2013 the race was run at one mile on the turf with a $100,000 purse. The next four renditions were at six furlongs on the dirt offering a $75,000 purse.
There is no fee to nominate to the Shakopee Juvenile. Nominations close Friday, Sept. 8.
