Canterbury Park Race 7 Sat July 19 20 horse field

[mnmark]

Canterbury Park’s Extreme Race Day, now in its eighth year, will be held Saturday, July 19. Exhibition races with camels, ostriches, and zebras have become the main draw on Extreme Day, last year’s attendance was a record 20,291, but this season the program will include the return of ‘The Battle of the Surfaces.’ This pari-mutuel race will feature 20 horses, the largest field in North American racing in 2014, competing against each other simultaneously at one and one-sixteenth miles on the turf and one mile on the dirt.

The two starting gates will be staggered so that the final time of the race is approximated to be the same for both the turf and dirt. Canterbury Park officials have analyzed the varying speed of the turf and dirt courses as well as the class of the horses competing, and have judged that the closest finish would result from the turf horses racing an extra one-sixteenth of a mile. The starting gate stalls will open in unison and it will be up to handicappers to determine which horses will be the best when the horses finish at the same finish line in front of the grandstand. Twelve thoroughbreds have been entered for the turf and eight for the dirt.

Each horse will be an individual betting interest with win, place, show, exacta, trifecta, and superfecta wagering offered. The order of finish will be determined by best finish position regardless of which surface the horse is racing on, so it is possible to have an exacta payoff comprised of a horse racing on the turf and a horse racing on the dirt. The Battle of the Surfaces will be the seventh race on a 10-race program.

Canterbury Park was the first track to successfully attempt such a race when it debuted during the 2007 Extreme Day. The following year the starting gates failed to open simultaneously and The Battle of the Surfaces seemed doomed. Canterbury’s Vice President of Racing Operations Eric Halstrom is determined to make it a success this Saturday.

“We showed that this could work in 2007 and the fans loved it. We were disappointed the next year when the gates did not open together, but it was technology that failed us not the race,” Halstrom said. “We have tested and tweaked the gates and the distances to make this an exciting event that race fans will only experience at Canterbury Park and believe we are creating the most unique wagering opportunity in the history of racing for handicappers across the country.”

The 2014 Kentucky Derby field had 19 horses. This 20-horse field of Battle of the Surfaces will be the largest in the country this year.







Any thoughts on how what surface has the advantage based on the fact that they are running an extra 1/16 of a mile n the turf. I know when they ran it the first time it was big advantage turf but i believe they ran the same distance that year.

[Clocker]

Originally Posted by mnmark

Any thoughts on how what surface has the advantage based on the fact that they are running an extra 1/16 of a mile n the turf.

I'd say that Highway 83 would have the surface advantage. Leave Canterbury, turn right on 83, and head south to Mystic Lake Casino. They have some video poker machines there that offer much better betting opportunities.

[HuggingTheRail]

Agree with Clocker that it is probably a race I wouldn't touch...

That said, if I were to play it, I would pick one surface, and completely ignore the other...I would hope that if the turf horse wins, that the 2nd and 3rd turf horses are close by and beat the dirt horse, or vice versa.

Now you have me wanting to open the PPs

[Clocker]

Originally Posted by HuggingTheRail

Now you have me wanting to open the PPs

I am going to show incredible self-control and wait for the charts.

[Stillriledup]

This sounds interesting.

So, does anyone know the date and race in 2007 that this happened? I'd like to look at the equibase chart to see how the race ran and the pool sizes.

Thanks.

[Rise Over Run]

Originally Posted by Stillriledup

This sounds interesting.

So, does anyone know the date and race in 2007 that this happened? I'd like to look at the equibase chart to see how the race ran and the pool sizes.

Thanks.

July 22, 2007, races 13 & 14. BRIS does not show any wagering results or pools.

[cj]

Shouldn't be very tough to figure out if the turf or dirt course will be favored after a few races, but you still have to pick the winner.

[Stillriledup]

Originally Posted by cj

Shouldn't be very tough to figure out if the turf or dirt course will be favored after a few races, but you still have to pick the winner.

Its only easy if you actually watch the first 6 races.....won't be as easy if you tune into the signal with 5 MTP to this specific race, which is what i plan on doing.

[Valuist]

Originally Posted by Clocker

I'd say that Highway 83 would have the surface advantage. Leave Canterbury, turn right on 83, and head south to Mystic Lake Casino. They have some video poker machines there that offer much better betting opportunities.

You may not even have to go that far. On the first floor of Canterbury they have blackjack. Not sure about the video poker, though.

[therussmeister]

Originally Posted by cj

Shouldn't be very tough to figure out if the turf or dirt course will be favored after a few races, but you still have to pick the winner.

It's tough to figure because they are running different distances. The first year it was a no-brainer that the turf horses would win. Canterbury's turf course was always much faster than the dirt.

[cj]

Originally Posted by therussmeister

It's tough to figure because they are running different distances. The first year it was a no-brainer that the turf horses would win. Canterbury's turf course was always much faster than the dirt.

I realize that, still think it will be pretty easy to figure out. I'll post before the race what I find.

[cj]

Originally Posted by Stillriledup

Its only easy if you actually watch the first 6 races.....won't be as easy if you tune into the signal with 5 MTP to this specific race, which is what i plan on doing.

then why bother?

[Stillriledup]

Originally Posted by cj

then why bother?

Because there's 20 betting interests. Its only 6,840 to box the field in the tri.

[rastajenk]

Wouldn't be surprised if it paid a something-something-All.

[Thomas Roulston]

And I wonder what the purse distribution will be.

But there was serious talk of running real 20-horse fields on the turf course at Woodbine a while back.