Rain, Chill Put a Damper on Season Opener at Canterbury

The track was sloppy and they sky was gray, but the competition was fierce during the opening day of Canterbury Park's 2013 season.

The first race went to Band of Silence, but one of Shakopee's own, Polar Plunge, won the biggest purse of the night, the $50,000 Lady Slipper Stakes. The 5-year-old racing horse is owned by local Camelia Casby of Shakopee. Under jockey Juan Rivera, Polar Plunge covered six furlongs in 1:11.58, beating out Happy Hour Honey and Hidden Gold.

The win brings the mare's career total to $155,932.

According to the track, 6,478 fans turned out to cheer her on, a modest attendance figure that track officials attributed to rainy, cold conditions. Nevertheless, Canterbury officials are expecting a brisk season for 2013, thanks to improvements in the national economy and a new cooperative marketing and purse enhancement agreement with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, owners of the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel. Since the agreement was hashed out last year, purses have doubled. The Lady Slipper purse, for instance, grew from $35,000 to $50,000.

Racing begins today at 1:30 p.m. Canterbury is hoping for fair skies and a good crowd for the simulcast of The Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown.