Live From Canterbury Park in Minnesota: It's the Claiming Crown

Rachel Alexandra is at Monmouth this weekend and needs the win. (AP Images)

Saturday is a very big day in horse racing and Sunday isn’t too shabby either. For one thing, both Saratoga and Del Mar will be enjoying their first weekends of their newly convened 2010 race meets.

And that's not all.

At Monmouth Park on Saturday, we should see the reigning Horse of the Year, RACHEL ALEXANDRA demonstrating in the $400,000 Lady’s Secret Stakes that she actually is the horse who was such an exciting performer in 2009. After two early season defeats and an uninspiring victory in the Fleur DeLis Stakes at Churchill Downs last month, it is time for Rachel to take another step forward. If she fails to do so, I would doubt seriously that we will ever see her meet undefeated ZENYATTA or any other serious rival this year. In other words, this race, even against the modest competition that she will face on Saturday, is important to Rachel’s career.

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At Canterbury Park in Minnesota, we have the 12th annual Claiming Crown, with a half dozen stakes races worth $500,000, each designed to reward the bread and butter claiming horses who make up the majority of our racing cards from coast to coast. In fact, I am at Canterbury for my annual Claiming Crown handicapping seminar. I am back at the track I covered for the Star Tribune of Minneapolis from Canterbury's birth in 1985 through its first of two bankruptcies in 1991.

Frankly, it is very good to see that a fine, well designed racing venue such as Canterbury can overcome crushing financial issues to emerge in good health under the management of knowledgeable horsemen who eagerly reinvested in Minnesota horse racing. Claiming Crown, one of the most unique events on the national racing calendar, belongs here and has grown into a nationally watched and actively played event. Beyond the great betting opportunities this day often provides, I love being here on this day, even when Saratoga and Del Mar -- my two favorite American tracks -- are off and running with their new summer seasons.

At Saratoga, which opened on Friday, July 23, DEVIL MAY CARE will likely be a heavy favorite to with her third Grade-1 stakes in the prestigious $250,000 Coaching Club American Oaks. The CC American Oaks will be the first of 13 Grade-1 stakes on the rich Saratoga calendar that will include a total of 53 stakes during its 40 racing days.

At Del Mar, which opened Wednesday, July 21 to a large, happy crowd only to find problems with the Polytrack on the morning of the following day, the Saturday feature will be the Grade-1 Eddie Read Stakes. This is the first of seven Grade-1 stakes on the schedule that will include 42 stakes overall during Del Mar's 37 racing dates.

Aside from the $300,000 purse and the Grade-1 ranking, the 1-1/8 mile Eddie Read on the Del Mar grass course, often produces a serious contender or two for the internationally important Arlington Million to be run at 1-1/4 miles on the Arlington turf course on Saturday, Aug. 21.

And in case you are wondering, this year, both Del Mar and Saratoga's marquee Grade-1 events -- the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar and the $1 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga, will be run just a week after the Arlington Million on Saturday Aug. 28.

As for the problems with the Del Mar Polytrack on Thursday, July 22, new track superintendent Richard Tedesco took all the blame.

"I miscalculated when to schedule a procedure that would have prevented the track from becoming loose," Tedesco said. "Should have gone ahead as I originally thought to do the (procedure) on Monday."

Apparently, Tedesco and his crew fixed the problem quickly and all the jockeys who tested the surface Thursday before and during the races unanimously said it was in "great shape." "I’m learning." Tedesco said.

So are most horseplayers who will attack the Claiming Crown and both Saratoga and Del Mar's first of many intensely interesting weekend racing cards. And the same probably is true for those who are more interested in the premier stakes north of the Canadian border this weekend: The 1-3/16 mile, $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie Racetrack, the second jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown.

BIG RED MIKE, winner of the Queen's Plate at Woodbine on July 4 is the probable favorite over seven rivals in the Prince of Wales. He is seeking the second leg of a Triple Crown for Canadian bred 3-year-olds that has only been swept seven times since it was created 51 years ago.

The final jewel in this series will be the 1-1/2 mile Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine next month. And frankly there is one thing about the Canadian Triple Crown that makes it a compelling test of equine talent that goes beyond the fact that it is restricted to horses bred in Canada: all three races in the series are run on completely different surfaces. The Queen's Plate is at 1-1/4 miles on Polytrack; the Prince of Wales is 1-3/16 miles on dirt and the Breeders' Stakes is run at 1-1/2 mile turf.

Seems to me that three American racetracks should consider constructing a Triple Crown for older horses built along the same concept.

Good luck, everyone! And don't forget... Bodog Racebook has everything you need to bet on horse racing.