A state Senate committee rejected the idea. It came up most recently in March amid the debate over funding for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium. But the plans have routinely failed in the Legislature, thanks to twin-pronged opposition from gambling opponents and American Indian tribes that want to block competition to their casinos. Minnesota track owners and horse breeders had pushed to add slot machines to turn the tracks into “racinos” as a way to fund various state initiatives while helping the horse industry. The racing commission’s executive director, Richard Krueger, was out of the office and not reachable for comment Monday. Sampson said both sides are hopeful the commission will schedule a special meeting and approve it within a couple weeks. The Minnesota Racing Commission still needs to approve the deal.

The agreement also includes the tribe paying $8.5 million for joint marketing that will boost the tribe’s total contribution to $83.5 million. The tribe will benefit, too, because the agreement solidifies the southwest corner of the Twin Cities metro areas as the premier entertainment and gambling destination for the region, said Edward Stevenson, president and CEO of the SMSC Gaming Enterprise, which operates the tribe’s Mystic Lake and Little Six casinos just four miles down the road from Canterbury.

Our two businesses will focus on what we do best-in our case that’s horse racing-and SMSC and Mystic Lake, they’ll continue to operate a world-class casino hotel and entertainment venue,” Sampson said. “The agreement provides the best of all worlds.

The tribe’s money will allow Canterbury to more than double its purses within a few years, Sampson said, allowing the track to offer what he promised will be world-class racing to go with what’s recognized as a world-class track complex. The state’s two tracks have been struggling to attract the best horses and jockeys against competition from other Midwestern tracks that pay higher purses, Canterbury president and CEO Randy Sampson said. SHAKOPEE, Minn.-The Canterbury Park horse race track has agreed to drop its long pursuit of slot machines in exchange for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community paying the track $75 million to fatten its purses over 10 years, according to a deal announced Monday that protects the tribe’s lucrative nearby casinos.Ĭanterbury has pursued slots for more than a decade, arguing it needed more revenue to revive Minnesota’s horse racing and breeding industries.

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