Minnesolta Festival of Champions Week begins Thursday with Quarter Horse Stakes

Canterbury Park’s annual Minnesota Festival of Champions gets underway on Thursday, featuring a pair of quarter horse stakes, and continues Saturday with six thoroughbred stakes. The Festival of Champions began in 1992, dedicating purse money exclusively to horses bred in the state. It has remained the centerpiece of the meet each season.

Thursday’s eight-race program begins with three quarter horse races, including two Festival fixtures, the $46,600 Minnesota Quarter Horse Futurity and $48,200 Minnesota Quarter Horse Derby. Leading trainer Jason Olmstead has two of the seven entered in the Futurity: the 4-to-5 favorite Sheza a Sugar Momma and the 20-to-1 Jessapolliticalcandy.

Earlier this summer ShezaA Sugar Momma won the North Star State Futurity, defeating the entire field she will face Thursday. The 2-year-old filly owned by Tom Maher and Paul Luedemann followed that with a win in the MQHRA Stallion Auction Futurity and has not missed the board in five career starts. Olmstead’s 16-year-old son Ryder Olmstead has the mount.

Haley Hobbs trains a pair in the Futurity as well, maiden Dead Game Zoomie, second in the North Star State Futurity, and Superona, owned by Cesar Albino Martinez, who was third and went on to win her next two starts. Trainer Ed Ross Hardy, who has a record 12 wins in the Minnesota Futurity, will saddle Eos Hey Bucko for owner and breeder Corey Wilmes.

The Minnesota Quarter Horse Derby’s field of nine appears to be very competitive. Olmstead has the two favorites, Sophey and Spicy Cartel, but neither is proven at the 400-yard distance. Hobbs also has a pair of 3-year-olds including Del Cartel who won the North Star State Derby at Thursday’s distance.

Streak N Mi Corazon has not started since June of 2025. She won her debut earlier that year at Remington Park and made two subsequent starts with no impact. She has since changed hands, is trained by Gerado Quinones-Sarmiento, and will be ridden by Roman Cruz.

Last year’s Minnesota Futurity winner Holy Dynasty is also entered and will be ridden by Jarred Journet. The gelding, owned and bred by Dan Kjorsvik and trained by Pat Swan, will make his second start of the year. He finished last in a Remington Park conditioned allowance in April.

“He grabbed himself in that race and we had to give him time,” Kjorsvik said, explaining the absence. “We missed the [North Star State Derby] and decided not to run in the Canterbury Park Derby trials as qualifying would have meant three races in a short time.We circled this race. If he gets a clean trip, clean gate, he’ll have his big kick and hopefully will run them down.”

The Thursday program begins at 5:10 p.m. with the $22,800 Cash Caravan Stakes, the meet’s only 440-yard race. Restricted to horses either bred in Minnesota or at least 50 percent owned by a state resident, the Cash Caravan drew an Iowa bred, an Oklahoma bred and five Minnesota breds who will compete for an additional $10,000 in purse money provided by the Minnesota Breeders’ Fund.

With the Canterbury quarter horse season ending Thursday, the Cash Caravan will play a role in determining the meet’s leading owner and jockey. Ryder Olmstead has a three-win lead over Fernando Fonseca-Soto who would need to sweep the three races to achieve a tie for top riding honors.

The leading owner title is up for grabs. Tom Maher, all-time leading quarter horse owner by wins and purses in track history, is tied with three wins with Cavenaugh Quarter Horses, who have no starters Thursday, and Albino Martinez who has one horse in both the Futurity and Derby.

The Maher and Luedemann partnership have two wins and one entry. Tyler Stein has two wins and owns and trains a Derby entrant while Hobbs, with two wins, owns L Gallito in the Cash Carvan. Lunderborg, LLC also has two wins and Sophey entered in the Futurity.

Based on history, Maher may have the upper hand in the Cash Caravan with Relentless Legacy as his trainer Jason Olmstead has already secured his 12th consecutive training title and has won the Cash Caravan the past eight years, twice with Relentless Legacy.

Maher has won the race the past three years. The 7-year-old Minnesota bred Relentless Legacy is the 5 to 2 second choice on the morning line and will be piloted by Armando Alvidrez who won the riding title in 2024 and 2025. Relentless Legacy won the Bob Morehouse Stakes, facing state breds, in July.

The morning line favorite is Iowa bred Foxy Cowgirl trained by Hardy. The 5-year-old mare last raced at North Dakota Horse Park in July, winning the $45,000 North Dakota Distaff Challenge. She will be ridden by Angel Ramirez.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Would you like more industry news delivered directly to your inbox? Click here to sign up.