A record 88 horses were pre-entered Tuesday for Claiming Crown 2003, the $550,000 day of racing to be held July 19 at Canterbury Park. Claiming Crown 2003 will consist of six races with purses ranging from $50,000 to $150,000. The first three runnings of the Claiming Crown have attracted crowds of more than 11,000 to Canterbury Park and wagering of more than $2 million on the respective race cards. The 2002 renewal was held at Philadelphia Park Past Claiming Crown days have generated record exotic payoffs at Canterbury Park, and according to Claiming Crown coordinator Nat Wess, this year should be no different. "With five of the six races projected to have fields of 12 or more, lucrative payoffs are likely again this year," said Wess. "With big fields and big payoffs, Claiming Crown has truly become the premiere day of horse racing at Canterbury Park." Final entries for Claming Crown 2003 will be taken July 16, with the draw beginning at 10:00AM. Minnesota Vikings Head Coach and avid race fan Mike Tice will attend the post-position draw ceremonies. First post will be 1:30 p.m. with the first of the six Claiming Crown races going off at approximately 3 p.m. On hand at Canterbury Park for the Claiming Crown races will be Trevor Denman, track announcer for Santa Anita and Del Mar Racetracks. Denman will provide the paddock analysis for the Claiming Crown races, which will be carried live by TVG.
More information on Claiming Crown pre-entries as well as the races can be found on the Canterbury Park website at www.canterburypark.com.