SHAKOPEE, MN – In the last few years, Canterbury Park has been able to set handle records while navigating through a once in a generation pandemic by experimenting with race dates, post times and takeout. At President and CEO Randy Sampson’s side through it all was Minnesota native and Senior Vice President of Racing Operations, Andrew Offerman. The success didn’t go unnoticed.
Today the New York Racing Association named Offerman to the newly created position of Vice President and General Manager of Operations. Beginning on November 11, Offerman will oversee frontside operations at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course.
The relationship between Offerman and NYRA President and CEO David O’Rourke goes back to 2009 when Offerman interned for NYRA as a graduate student at the Race Track Industry Program at the University of Arizona.
“NYRA sets the gold standard in our sport, and I am deeply appreciative of this opportunity to help shape the future of the organization,” said Offerman. “My experiences at Canterbury Park have prepared me for this next chapter and I’m thrilled it will be at the finest and most important racing organization in the country. I’d like to thank Canterbury Park and its racing community for their support throughout my tenure.
“After this opportunity arose, I was facing two really good options. I feel really good about what’s happening here despite there being some uncertainty.”
In a statement, Sampson said:
While we are very sorry to see Andrew leave and will miss his leadership and industry knowledge very much, I want to congratulate Andrew as he moves on to the next phase of his career as Vice President and General Manager of Operations for the New York Racing Association.
It has been a privilege to work with Andrew the past 18 years and watch him and his career grow and flourish. He has been a good friend and co-worker to many of us and I will personally miss his involvement at Canterbury.
I am deeply appreciative of the many contributions Andrew has made to the success of Canterbury Park. Under his leadership, our live racing handle has grown dramatically as has our reputation as one of the best racing operators in the country. In 2022, our live race meet set several all-time records, which is a credit to Andrew and the entire racing operations team he has built at Canterbury.
In a release, NYRA’s O’Rourke stated, “Andrew is a seasoned executive and proven leader who will bring considerable skills to the talented team we have assembled at NYRA. “He is a strategic thinker who understands that horse racing is rapidly evolving, and we are pleased to welcome him in this wide-ranging new role.”
“I look forward to getting there and getting to know the team and the departments, understanding how things work there and then working on where I can be most useful,” said Offerman.
Offerman was asked about the timing of his departure given that it coincides with the end of the joint marketing agreement with the Shakopee Mdwekanton Sioux Community.
“This is definitely not me ‘jumping ship’ in anyway way,” he emphasized. “When I look at what’s happening here at Canterbury and the amount of money being reinvested in the racing product, this is definitely an enticing spot for whoever comes next. While there may be some short-term uncertainty, there has been a lot of planning for long term stability. You can see where the emphasis is when the company makes the single largest capital investment in racing in its history.
“I want to be very clear that there were maybe two jobs in the country that could have lured me from Canterbury and joining what is arguably the premier racing circuit in the country in this role was one of them.”
While Canterbury is not ready to name a replacement at this time, it is expected that track leadership will be defined in the coming months as the track readies for the 2023 racing season.
