The first day of spring dawned this morning over Shakopee with a brisk 7 degree temperature and more snow than should be legal on the ground this time of year. But you may have noticed that though the temperature didn’t get above freezing yesterday, there was still some melting going on and that’s because the sun is higher and stronger in the sky and that means it’s almost time to go racing!
Indeed, in places as far flung as Arkansas, Louisiana, Arizona, Florida, Illinois and even at training centers here in Minnesota, horses are gearing up and getting ready for the May 17th opening of Canterbury Park. Horses aren’t the only animals getting ready for the season, we humans at the Racing Club are gearing up as well – and if you or your friends want to be a part of it, there are only 11 days left to get signed up!
I spent some time in Chicago last week visiting with Clay and he’s ready to get rolling as is Bernell in Florida if we end up with enough sign ups. Currently we’ve eclipsed last year’s numbers (roughly at 150 members) and are excited about the possibilities that this brings: more members means more horses which hopefully translates into more starts and more shots at the winners’ circle – and more fun at Canterbury all summer long!
So if you haven’t signed up yet and have meant to or have friends that have been saying they are but haven’t, don’t delay – time is running out. As we say at the track: “Don’t get shut out!”
Canterbury Racing Club 
Have you thought about putting an ad in Twin City newspapers to try to recruit memebrs?
While the reach is strong, the return tends to be low for a relatively expensive proposition and those kind of dollars are better spent toward horse acquisition and the member experience.
What about a facebook and/or twitter presence for the club?
Jonathan – A Twitter presence may be a bit tough since I, Jeff and Andrew all maintain our own Twitter feeds that during the season are very active. I also plan to use my feed (@tlgrevelis) to Tweet club action. However I really like the idea of a Facebook presence. We’ll discuss that internally and see if that can work. Thanks!
How about Ted getting on Paul Allens KFAN show and touting the Racing Club along with the upcoming Racing Season.
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I would be all for it except that I am out of town this coming week on business and it may be tough – especially being out on the West Coast. And, of course, that is entirely up to PA and KFAN – with free agency, the NCAA tourney, the looming opening of the baseball season, and hockey playoff spots at stake this is a busy week!!
Ted, If you are going to be out on the West Coast, maybe you could bring back a really nice claimer from Santa Anita……
I am very anxious to see the stable start to take shape in the next month. Hope they are well suited for the Canterbury Track. Speed horses that will take advantage of the track bias! I saw a note that applications for the Canterbury barns were at a record high…..sounds like a good year for the Track! Go Canterbury Racing Club.
Who shall we make the check out to? Can I just mail it in with my form?
Please make the check out to Canterbury Park and absolutely send it in with your form. Very glad to have you aboard, Ryan!
Have you scheduled the barn tour dates yet? I am really interested in joining the club but want to make sure I can make a barn tour date if I do join. I will be gone the first week of June ( weekend before and after too) to visit my daughter in San Francisco and visit the Golden Gate Fields race track on the San Francisco Bay, so if the only barn tour dates are when I am gone, then I would probably want to join the club some other time.
We have not scheduled the barn tours yet, however we are looking at more than one date. I believe that last year there were two scheduled, spread out through the season. I would anticipate the same this year.
can i still get in the clup, been gone month of march, but would like to get in if not too late
I’m sorry, Corey, but we opened up the membership the end of January and needed to set a hard date to close it, in this case March 31, in order to give us time to account for the funds, plan for the number of horses we could acquire and start the claiming process with our trainer before the start of the season. I hope that you’ll follow along with us and join us next season.