It was 30 years ago when trainer Mac Robertson first showed up at Canterbury Park and won four races from 23 starts during the summer of 1995. He’s since become the kingpin of racing in Minnesota.
Robertson is Canterbury Park’s all-time leading trainer in local wins, with 1,105 through Thursday, and stable earnings, with more than $24 million. He’s won 141 stakes at Canterbury and in 2011 was inducted into the track’s Hall of Fame.
Robertson, the 50-year-old son of trainer Hugh Robertson, is rolling right along this meet. He’s won five races from 16 starts to rank third in the standings, and his 31 percent win rate is the highest among the top 20 trainers.
“We’ve had a lot of good years in a row, consistency,” Robertson said. “Dad and I have had a good 30 years. That’s hard to do. That says a lot, I think.”
Robertson was an assistant to his father in Chicago for 10 years. He saddled his first winner as a trainer on July 16, 1994, at Ak-Sar-Ben and after competing at Cantebury in 1995 and 1996 went back to work for his father. The younger Robertson returned to Minnesota in 2005 and won 53 races from 202 starters to begin his ascent on the local scene.
An astute horseman, Robertson learned well from his father, who is now based at Hawthorne.
“He told you jump, ‘How high?’,” said the younger Robertson. “That’s how it was.”
Robertson grew up going to the track with his dad and at the age of 5 or 6 said he could put on “a pretty good bandage.” His father and mother, Theresa, have been married 55 years, and the family has its roots in Nebraska. Theresa is a nurse who long has helped with the racing operation.
“My mom’s a Grade 1 winner, and me and dad, we’re $5,000 claimers,” Robertson said. “We’re happy to run and drink beer and hope we win, and mom, she brought us up a lot. She uplifted us, like, beyond our capabilities. She still goes to the barn, keeps dad in line.”
The younger Robertson, who has 50 horses at Canterbury and also keeps a division at Delaware Park, has much to look forward to with his stable.
“I think I have a good crop of 2-year-olds,” he said. “I think I’ve got some 2-year-olds that can run, which is nice. Novogratz, Xtreme, and Mentz – they bought a lot of nice horses. We spent some money for them, so hopefully they get rewarded for their gamble.”
Some of the young prospects will be active at Canterbury.
“I start a lot of 2-year-olds at Minnesota,” Robertson said. “They get over the track pretty easily at Canterbury. It’s been good to me.”
Among the top older horses Robertson has at Canterbury is Tonka Warrior, who is coming off a fast-closing second in a local allowance. He will soon see stakes company in Minnesota.
“He ran great the other day,” Robertson said. “He was kind of rocking back when they sprung it. I was watching him. He was running so fast I was sure he was going to win, and the other horse outran him a little bit. He couldn’t get by that horse. The other horse ran a great race, too.”
Tonka Warrior is an earner of nearly $400,000 for Xtreme Racing Stable.
“He really likes the grass at Canterbury, so that’s where he’ll run for the summer,” Robertson said. “If he runs good another time or two, maybe I take him to Delaware and train him for a week then take him somewhere up in New York, because he’s a New York-bred.”
Robertson, a career winner of 1,650 races who has captured graded stakes with Win Willy and Bryan’s Jewel, will be active in the fifth and sixth races Sunday at Canterbury.
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