Canterbury Park reported 72 horses have been pre-entered for the Claiming Crown, which is scheduled for July 25 at the Minnesota racetrack.
The Claiming Crown, now in its 11th year, offers $600,000 in purses for seven races, two of them on the grass.
Heading the roster of entrants in the featured $150,000 Claiming Crown Jewel is Antrim County, who recently was selected National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association "Claimer of the Year" for 2008. Antrim County won 10 of 15 starts last year, including the $50,000 Claiming Crown Iron Horse.
Antrim County was claimed for $7,500 shortly before the 2008 Claiming Crown, and four races later current owner Carl Moore claimed him for $50,000.
Four of the entrants, all owned by Ed Denike of Kent, Wash., will be ridden by Russell Baze, the Northern California-based jockey who is the winningest rider of all time with more than 10,000 career victories. Baze will be one of about a dozen top jockeys from all parts of the country who will be at Canterbury for Claiming Crown 2009.
There were nine supplementary nominees among the 266 horses made eligible for this year’s Claiming Crown, for which final entries will be taken July 22.
The July 25 program at Canterbury wil include the $100,000 Lady Canterbury Breeders’ Cup Stakes and a $15,000 stakes for Quarter Horses. First post time is set for 1:30 p.m. CDT. The races will broadcast on TVG.
The Claiming Crown, inaugurated in 1999, has been run all but two years at Canterbury. Ellis Park in Kentucky and Philadelphia Park Casino & Racetrack in Pennsylvania each hosted the event once.