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Ellis Park and Canterbury Park Chosen as Host Sites for 2007 and 2008 Claiming Crown Lexington, KY -- Officials of Claiming Crown Limited announced today that the 2007 Claiming Crown will be hosted for the first time ever at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky. Canterbury Park, which has hosted the event seven of the first eight years, will host the 2008 event. The Claiming Crown, which consists of seven races worth $600,000 in purses, has been held annually since 1999 and has become the highlight on the racing calendar for horses which have started for claiming tags between $7,500 and $35,000. “The original idea behind the Claiming Crown was to rotate the event around the country and we are looking forward to hosting the races at Ellis Park in 2007,” said Dan Metzger, chairman of Claiming Crown Limited. “The new management at Ellis Park, coupled with the enthusiastic support from the Kentucky HBPA, should make the 2007 event a tremendous opportunity for the track and the community, as well as the Claiming Crown. At the same time, we are looking forward to returning to Minnesota in 2008, as the event has grown in stature under the management and promotion from Canterbury Park.” “Ellis Park is honored and appreciates being selected as the 2007 host site of the Claiming Crown event and we are committed in making the event a huge success”, stated Ellis’s new owner Ron Geary. “Immediately upon reaching an agreement to purchase the Henderson, Kentucky facility from Churchill Downs, Inc. on July 17, 2006, pursuing the Claiming Crown event at Ellis Park for 2007 was one of my top priorities” stated Geary. “Randy Sampson and his staff at Canterbury Park have done an outstanding job hosting the event in the past and we at Ellis Park want to continue and build upon that success. We, along with our industry partners, will work hard and put forth maximum effort to insure success and exceed expectations of all those who participate. We are also excited for our race fans that have supported our historic track for so many years that they can witness such an event first hand. I am also pleased for the Ellis Park employees. Last November the facility was hit by a powerful tornado that inflicted significant destruction and damage throughout the entire facility. The clean up and rebuild of the facility in such a short period of time is quite remarkable and stands as a testament to the dedication and resilience of our Ellis Park team” added Geary. “On behalf of the 30,000 horsemen and women of the National HBPA and its affiliates, we are thrilled with the 2007-2008 Claiming Crown schedule and think this can only improve the event,” said Joe Santanna, president of the National HBPA. “While we’re always excited at hosting the Claiming Crown, I’m very happy for Kentucky’s racing fans that Ellis Park will be hosting the Claiming Crown in 2007”, said Randy Sampson, president of Canterbury Park. “Ellis Park’s new owner, Ron Geary, and his team will certainly do justice to this wonderful event. This will be Claiming Crown’s first visit to Kentucky, bringing, I suspect, a new live and simulcast audience…an audience which, I fully expect, will tune-in and enjoy the 2008 Claiming Crown when it returns to Canterbury Park.” The eighth Claiming Crown was held at Canterbury Park on July 15. On-track attendance was 11,644, and total handle was nearly $2.1 million. The Claiming Crown is a partnership between the National HBPA and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Click Here to Return to News Page
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