SHAKOPEE, Minn. – Minnesota-breds take center stage Saturday at Canterbury Park on Made in Minnesota Night, highlighted by a pair of $75,000 stakes races for 3-year-olds: the Minnesota Derby and Minnesota Oaks.
Both races will be contested at one mile and 70 yards over the main track.
Minnesota Derby
The Derby attracted a compact field of four, with most attention focused on the budding rivalry between Navarre and How Bout That Curt.
The pair have faced each other twice in their brief careers. How Bout That Curt came out on top in both the Northern Lights Futurity last year and the Vic Myers Stakes 13 days ago. Navarre narrowed the margin in the Myers, and his connections believe the added distance of the Derby will work in his favor.
How Bout That Curt has defeated every horse in the field at least once and will try to keep his undefeated record in Minnesota-bred stakes company intact. The gelding is trained by Tony Rengstorf, will be ridden by Constantino Roman, and is owned and bred by Sampson Racing Stables.
Navarre, owned by Carin Offerman, bred by Almar Farms, trained by Troy Bethke, and ridden by Alonzo Quinonez, is the only horse in the field with a dominant sprint victory on his résumé. He scored impressively in a seven-furlong state-bred allowance, defeating another Derby rival, Perfect Gamble (Goodwin/Williams).
Completing the field is That Type Ofa Deal (Berndt/Americano), who finished third in the Vic Myers Stakes.
The Derby will be run as Race 2 on the card.
Minnesota Oaks
The Minnesota Oaks drew a field of seven, with Heavenly Captive, winner of the Frances Genter Stakes, installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite.
After a modest 2-year-old campaign, the Mac Robertson trainee has blossomed at age 3. She has won three of four starts this season, with her only defeat coming on the turf, where she finished second. In the Frances Genter, she tracked Summer Winner through the early stages before drawing off late to win by 2½ lengths.
Heavenly Captive is owned by John Mentz, bred by Kevin Conard, and will be ridden by Manny Americano.
Kaitskate (Berndt/Roman) is the only Oaks contender to have won around two turns on dirt, accomplishing the feat when she broke her maiden in a state-bred allowance at one mile on June 28.
Also returning from the Frances Genter are third-place finisher Flatter Me Billy (Rushton/Mawing) and fourth-place finisher Private Speaker (Robertson/Gallardo). They will be joined by Promises (Goodwin/Parris) and Nancy’s Shawl (Padilla/Fuentes) in the starting gate.
The Oaks will be contested as Race 7.
Three of the other five races on Saturday’s card are also restricted to Minnesota-bred runners.
First post for Made in Minnesota Night is 5:10 p.m. CT.
