Canterbury Park Holding Company (CPHC) offers pari-mutuel wagering and card games at its Canterbury Park Racetrack and Casino in Shakopee, Minnesota, near Minneapolis-Saint Paul. The metro area includes 2.2 million residents over 18 years of age.
Net revenues in 2013 were $46.7 million compared to $45.5 in 2012. Card games accounted for 54.4%, wagering on horse racing for 23.8%, and concessions for 13.8%. Net income in 2013 was just over $1 million, about the same as in 2012. CHPC stock, traded on Nasdaq, rose by 5.1% in 2013.
CPHC held 69 days of live racing in 2013 from mid-May through mid-September. Twenty days were devoted exclusively to Thoroughbred racing and 49 days were a mixture of Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing. Although Minnesota law requires a minimum of 125 days of live racing per year, the requirement can be waived if the Minnesota HBPA agrees to do so. Since 1995, the MHBPA has consented to CPHC holding a live meet of at least 50 days annually.
Minnesota law mandates that CPHC pay 10% of the first $6 million of gross card revenues to purses on live races. Beyond the $6 million threshold, the required distribution to purses escalates to 14% of gross card revenues. Ten percent of purse funds are set aside for the Minnesota Breeders’ Fund with the remaining 90% divided between Thoroughbred races and Quarter Horse races. Thoroughbred purse funds receive 90% and Quarter Horse purse funds get 10%.
CPHC operates under an agreement (signed in 2012) with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) in which the SMSC is to provide $75 million in purse supplements over a 10 ½ year term to live racing and an additional $8.5 million to CPHC for joint marketing efforts. In return, CPHC granted certain stock rights to SMSC and agreed that it would not lobby the Minnesota legislature for expanded gambling authority and will support SMSC’s efforts to stop expanded gambling. In 2014, the purse enhancements will total $5.84 million with the yearly amount rising to $8 million by 2018.
A version of this analysis appeared in the Blood-Horse. Copyright ©2014 Blood-Horse Publications. Used with permission.
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