The NTRA announced July 21 that Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minn., has been fully accredited by the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance following a complete review of all racing operations at the facility.
The accreditation of Canterbury Park was the culmination of a lengthy certification process that began with the track’s completion of a 48-page written application and continued as Canterbury hosted several meetings with Alliance officials. The on-site review included inspections of all facets of the racing facility, and interviews with track executives, racetrack personnel, jockeys, owners, trainers, stewards and fans.
The inspection team was comprised of Ronald Jensen, DVM; racing official Richard Lewis; and Mike Ziegler, Executive Director of the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance. Observing the inspection was Tommy G. Thompson, the independent monitor of the Alliance.
“Canterbury Park was reviewed earlier this month during its current, live meeting,” said Ziegler. “It exceeded prescribed benchmarks in many examined categories and received ‘Best Practice’ ratings in several areas including injury reporting and prevention; substance abuse and addiction prevention; catastrophic injury planning and procedure; infectious disease management; laboratory quality assurance program; and jockey disability support.”
“I’m exceedingly proud that we have received this designation from the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance," said Randy Sampson, president and general manager of Canterbury Park. “The safety of all human and equine athletes here at Canterbury will always be our number-one priority. The inspection process was very thorough, and I salute the many staff here who worked so hard to achieve this distinction.”
Canterbury Park is the 18th racing facility to be fully accredited by the Alliance. The Alliance, formed in October 2008 with the goal of establishing national uniform standards in the areas of safety and integrity, includes 55 racetracks in North America and every major national horsemen’s organization.