Calgary Stampede Chuckwagon Auction Shatters Records

0:00It's April 10th. Welcome in. This is Calgary News today, where local news meets AI. I'm Corey with the story. The Calgary Stampede just smashed its own record at the annual Chuck Wagon Canvas auction, pulling in $6.07 million on April. 9th. That's more than 2.23 million over last year's haul, with Bids averaging $225,000 each for Primad spots. On the wagons. Ray Crotto Jr. snagged the top spot at $550,000, marking his 20th season racing. Meanwhile, new players like the Lindgrens from Bar L5 Ranch, dropped big money on driver's chance flat for $125,000 and lane, flat for $180,000, showing fresh support for the sport. Stampede board chairs to Adol Conor called the design of booming interest thanks to eight new bidders jumping in. Folks are hyped, especially since high bids don't always guarantee wins, like Jason Glass last year, who got $230,000, but finished.

1:012nd. CEO Joel Cowley was blown away, expecting maybe 4 million tops. He figures spiking oil prices amid global chaos might have fueled the generosity. Plus, they're rolling out horse safety tech from the University of Calgary, tracking muscle issues early, building on cuts from four wagons to three. With the 10-day stampede firing up July 3 through 12, eyes are on Crotto to chase legends like Kelly Sutherland. More auctions hit Gran A Prairie this weekend and Pinocca in May, so the chuck wagon heat is just getting started.