The Canterbury Racing Club 2013 is now being formed! You have the opportunity to be involved again this year for the very reasonable price of $250. This club will teach you more about the costs, decisions and day-to-day operations involved in owning a racehorse.

If you were a member in the 2012 Racing Club, you can simply roll-over your remaining 2012 membership balance of $159.72 and submit an additional $90.28 along with a completed club membership form.

There are a few changes in the way the club will be run this year. With Andrew Offerman moving into Canterbury’s Live Racing and Mutuels departments and my desire to separate Canterbury management from the day-to-day Racing Club decisions such as claiming horses, we have found an experienced manager to run the club.

Ted Grevelis, a Board Member of the Minnesota Thoroughbred Association, has managed partnerships for a number of years and is also an excellent communicator, which is key to this club meeting its goal of being educational for all members. As the manager, Ted will receive a monthly fee which is explained in the membership form. I believe this to be a very reasonable solution considering other factors.

Here’s a self-introduction from Ted:

We all have a moment when the racing bug bit us and we couldn’t shake it off. Mine was
the 1986 Preakness Stakes. I knew it was all over for me because as a 20-year-old in the Pimlico infield I was captivated by the horses and not the party/meat market that was raging all around me.

I continued on as a fan for several years frequenting the tracks around my native New England as I finished up my government degree at Colby College. After graduation, I even paid my way through a year of graduate school at the University of Maryland punching tickets at Pimlico and Laurel Racetracks. Life eventually intervened and between owning a restaurant and then moving halfway around the world to Guam, racing took a decided backseat for nearly seven years.

A return to the mainland and settling in the race book Mecca of Las Vegas put racing back on the front burner and into my consciousness again, but it wasn’t until I moved to Minnesota in 2005 that I dove into ownership. I started as a small partner in a California stable and was able to see our claim, King Mobay, finish 5th in the Cal Cup Classic.

My appetite properly whet, I turned my attention closer to home and became a partner in two Minnesota bred siblings: Somerset Sam and Somerset Wish. During this experience, my co-workers decided that they wanted to be involved in the sport and that resulted in my forming my first partnership and Grevelis Racing Stable. It was around that time that I also started my blog, www.grevelisracing.blogspot.com, to chronicle the experiences of being a small time owner.

We worked with Canterbury Hall of Fame trainer Bernell Rhone and claimed our first horse, Fizzy Pop for $10,000. He won his second time over the Canterbury strip and gave the stable its first outright win. If I wasn’t hooked before, I was then! The trip to the winner’s circle was like it was in slow motion and the joy was indescribable.

Since then we’ve privately purchased or claimed several horses including multiple Canterbury winner Tabby Lane (3 for 4 over the strip in 2011) and a 2-year old filly named E Sveikata who was purchased for $16,000 and claimed from us after her maiden win at Calder for $32,000. Not all the horses have worked out but we’ve been able to maintain a 20% winning percentage and 51% in the money in nearly 90 starts with earnings over $205,000. We’ve raced in Minnesota, Florida, Oklahoma, Iowa and California.

This year, in addition to the Canterbury Racing Club we will hopefully be racing a 2-year-old Minnesota bred filly named Elusive Edition, we have a group looking to claim a mid-level horse at Tampa Bay Downs and are in the process of sending Tabby Lane to the breeding shed for a mating with the Storm Cat sire, Eastwood Dacat. I’m also heading into my third year in covering Canterbury for the Daily Racing Form and serve on the board of directors of the Minnesota Thoroughbred Association. All of this is sandwiched around my day job as Business Development Manager for FutureLogic Inc, the market leader in printers for the gaming industry.

I’m looking forward to working with you all and hope to have a successful and fun 2013!

Ted will do an excellent job with this club and it is everyone’s goal to grow the club this year and have even more horses, possibly even a quarter horse. We will be looking in both Florida and Illinois for prospects and Ted will work closely with the trainer or trainers (depending on the size and makeup of the stable).

While Andrew and I won’t be involved in running the club on a daily basis, I will still be very involved in providing information and updates which Ted will pass along through the blog. I now have on staff a videographer that will be able to provide more visuals and educational pieces. I am always available to answer questions and take suggestions.

Members will again have free admission for the season and when possible we will reserve an area for the group on race days. Finally, Curtis Sampson has agreed to be the licensed owner of record for the club this year, much like John Morgan did in 2012.

If you were a member in 2012 and would like to be a member in 2013, please download and return this form along with payment: Rollover from 2012 to 2013 Racing Club

If you are new to the club and would like to participate in 2013, please download and return this form along with payment: 2013 Racing Club Membership Form

Sincerely,

Jeff Maday
Canterbury Park