"Every single jockey loves this place. They love Canterbury, they love the Minnesota people, they love the crowds we have here," he said. "We only have 62 days of racing. I don’t want to go to Iowa to ride. I don’t want to go to Illinois. This is my home. This is where I live, this is where my house is, this is where I pay my taxes.”
Supporters rallied for state leaders to allow Canterbury to open and called for a Racino to be part of the state budget solution, so Canterbury can compete with other states that have them.
"This is not a sport of kings in Minnesota," said breeder Jeff Hilger of Stillwater. "These people came to 'Minnesota Nice.' For the last five years, they've come with a dream that we'd get a Racino someday. They came this year with that same dream, only to be slapped in the face. We're letting our government get away with this. We can't any more."
Former horse owner Arvilla Champan of Burnsville attended the rally to support her old friends. She's so disgusted by what's being done to Canterbury, she wants to move away from Minnesota.
"It's so upsetting; I just start crying," she said.
Mayor John Schmitt quipped that state leaders would be in Shakopee in a hurry if was the reverse, and a major employer was threatening to leave.
"I'm proud of our community, proud of Canterbury. I was here on day one and I don't want to be here on day zero," Schmitt said.
Earlier today, Sen. Claire Robling, R-Jordan, and Rep. Mike Beard, R-Shakopee, sent a letter to Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican majority leaders asking them to help reopen Canterbury Park as quickly as possible."
“A healthy horse industry is important to our state’s economy. There are all these individual businesses besides this big one,” said Robling. “I just spoke to someone who said, 'I am like a farmer, but my crop is livestock. I want to sell my yearlings this summer. If don’t get to have that sale, my crop for the whole year is lost.”
Purses in Shakopee are half of what Canterbury's top trainer receives in other states.
The racino legislation is a controversial proposal within the Republican caucus, but some hope legislators will be persuaded due to the damage that's been inflicted on Canterbury.
Exercise riders Mario Vejar and Carlos Araya, pictured above, are heading out Saturday morning with their trainer to Oklahoma because of the shut-down.
Their friend, groomer Damon Gladden, was supposed to be in Shakopee until the Arizona season started. His trainer has asked him if he has a passport. There's racing in Canada. A few trainers have left, he said. "Toward the weekend, that will grow stronger," he said.
"The refrigerator is empty. 'Wait a while, it'll be filled soon.' We can't wait for that."
Shannon Fiecke
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We publish an annual Resident’s Guide for each of our communities. It’s a tremendous source of local information – containing lists of services, names of organizations, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and much more. Keep it handy; use it often. You can find information from the Resident’s Guide here, or order a copy of the publication from our Circulation Department by calling (952) 345-6682 or e-mailing 
Southwest Newspapers’ weekly community papers have histories that go as far back as the Civil War era. Several were started from scratch as our communities began to grow in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s. These popular newspapers routinely win awards of excellence from organizations like the Minnesota Newspaper Association. 
List one is cities Aitkin to Plummer and the second the rest of the alphabet.
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We need to stop the fragmented appeals to sanity – we all are going to pay and we all need to band together in a united front. Our message should be simple – sit down and compromise – neither side will get all they want – get the job done else we will vote all incumbents out. Spread the word and tell your elected officials. Perhaps the threat of their losing their jobs will bring them to their senses.