2. STOCK BASED COMPENSATION

Stock based compensation is recorded at fair value as of the date of grant and included in the salaries and benefits expense line item on the consolidated statements of operations and amounted to $69,034 and $42,583 during the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively

Board of Director Restricted Stock Grants

Pursuant to Board action taken on April 15, 2011 and shareholder approval on June 2, 2011, the Company’s Stock Plan was amended to authorize annual grants of restricted stock or stock options, or both, as determined by the Board. Pursuant to the amended Stock Plan, on June 7, 2012, 2,364 shares of restricted stock were granted to each of the five non-employee members of the Board of Directors. The restricted stock will vest 100% after one year and will be subject to restrictions on resale for an additional year. The compensation cost related to this total restricted stock grant of 11,820 shares for the three months ended March 31, 2013 was $37,499. As of March 31, 2013, there was $24,999 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to this restricted stock grant which is expected to be recognized over 0.2 years.

Additionally, on January 4, 2013, 1,250 shares of restricted stock were granted to a newly named non-employee member of the Board of Directors. The restricted stock will vest 100% after one year and will be subject to restrictions on resale for an additional year. The compensation cost related to this restricted stock grant of 1,250 shares for the three months ended March 31, 2013 was $3,125. As of March 31, 2013, there was $9,375 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to this restricted stock grant which is expected to be recognized over 0.8 years.

Employee Stock Option and Deferred Stock Award Grants

On February 25, 2010, 86,500 options were granted to employees with an exercise price equal to the market price on the date of grant of $8.28. The stock options vest over a 42-month period and expire in ten years. The compensation cost associated with this grant of employee options is $282,355 to be recognized as expense over the 42-month vesting period. The compensation cost related to these employee option awards included in salaries and benefits expense for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012 was $17,647. As of March 31, 2013, there was $29,412 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to these stock options which is expected to be recognized over 0.4 years.

Additionally, on December 13, 2012, 20,500 shares of deferred stock awards were granted to employees with a price per share equal to the market price on the date of grant of $9.84. The deferred stock awards vest ratably over a four-year period. The compensation cost associated with this grant of employee options is $172,200 to be recognized as expense over the four-year vesting period. The compensation cost related to these employee deferred stock awards included in salaries and benefits expense for the three months ended March 31, 2013 was $10,763. As of March 31, 2013, there was $159,644 of total unrecognized compensation cost related to these deferred stock awards which is expected to be recognized over 4.0 years.

The number of shares that may be issued pursuant to restricted stock granted and the weighted average fair value during the periods presented were:

Three Months Ended

March 31, 2013

March 31, 2012

Weighted

Average

Fair Value

Grant

Per Share

Grant

Per Share

Board restricted stock

1,250

10.00

Total shares

1,250

A summary of stock option activity as of March 31, 2013 and changes during the three months then ended is presented below:



					Weighted
			Weighted		Average
			Average		Remaining		Aggregate
	Number of		Exercise		Contractual		Grant Date
Stock Options	Shares		Price		Term		Fair Value

Outstanding at January 1, 2013		292,267	$	10.13

Granted		-		-
Exercised		-		-
Expired/Forfeited		(15,000)	$	13.86

Outstanding at March 31, 2013		277,267	$	9.93		5.4 Years	$	2,753,697

Exercisable at March 31, 2013		257,142	$	10.06		5.3 Years	$	2,587,062

A summary of stock option activity as of March 31, 2012 and changes during the three months then ended is presented below:



					Weighted
			Weighted		Average
			Average		Remaining		Aggregate
	Number of		Exercise		Contractual		Grant Date
Stock Options	Shares		Price		Term		Fair Value

Outstanding at January 1, 2012		318,002	$	9.21

Granted		-		-
Exercised		(8,750)	$	6.86
Expired/Forfeited		-		-

Outstanding at March 31, 2012		309,252	$	9.97		6.1 Years	$	3,083,652

Exercisable at March 31, 2012		236,190	$	10.32		5.5 Years	$	2,437,555

Employee Stock Ownership Plan

Prior to 2008, the Company contributed shares of its common stock to its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (the “ESOP”). However, no contributions have been made from January 1, 2008 to date, and the Company has not taken any action to reinstate contributions to the ESOP. During the first quarter of 2013, the Company’s Board of Directors approved action to combine the ESOP with the 401(k) Plan to create a KSOP Plan. This KSOP Plan will allow the Company to use Company stock to match contributions from its employees should it so choose.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

On April 3, 1995, the Board of Directors adopted an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”). Pursuant to Board action taken in September 2011, the ESPP was amended so that stock is issued in three-month phases. The plan issued 2,101 shares during the first quarter of 2013 and 1,958 shares during the first quarter of 2012. The ESPP has issued a total of 254,851 shares since its inception. Pursuant to Board action taken on June 2, 2012, and effective during the third quarter of 2012, the discount offered to employees as part of the ESPP was raised 5% to 10%.

Stock Appreciation Rights (“SARs”)

As part of the Cooperative Marketing Agreement (the “Agreement”) discussed in Note 7, on June 14, 2012, the Company signed a Stock Appreciation Rights Agreement (the “SAR Agreement”) and issued SARs to non-employees. The SAR Agreement granted rights to non-employees to benefit from the appreciation in the value of 165,000 shares of Company common stock above $14.30 per share, a price agreed upon by the two parties. Each right represents the right to be paid the appreciation in the value of one share of stock above $14.30. Ten percent of the rights (16,500 rights) vested immediately and the remaining rights vest at the rate of 16,500 per year beginning in January 2013. The SAR Agreement provides for the cash payment of the excess of the fair market value of Canterbury Park Holding Corporation’s common stock price on the date of exercise over the grant price. SARs have no effect on dilutive shares or shares outstanding as any appreciation of the Company’s common stock value over the grant price is paid in cash and not in common stock. The SAR Agreement and all rights granted expire on December 31, 2022.

The fair value of SARs is revalued (mark-to-market) each reporting period using the Black-Scholes valuation model based on the Company’s period-end stock price. The expected term of the SARs granted is based on the contractual term. Expected volatility is based on the historical volatility of the Company’s stock for the length of time corresponding to the expected term of the SARs. The expected dividend yield is based on the Company’s anticipated dividend payments. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. treasury yield curve in effect as of the reporting date for the length of time corresponding to the expected term of the SARs.

The following weighted-average assumptions were used in calculating the fair value of SARs for the three-month period ended March 31, 2013, using the Black-Scholes valuation model; no SARs were granted during the three-month period ended March 31, 2013:


	March 31, 2013
Expected dividend yield		0.00	%
Expected weighted-average volatility		47.9	%
Risk-free interest rate		1.77	%
Expected term of SARs (in years)		9.75

There were no exercises during the three-month period ended March 31, 2013. The total fair value of SARs at March 31, 2013 was $304,032.

Changes to the Company’s non-vested SARs during the three-month period ended March 31, 2013, are as follows:



	SARs		Fair Value (*)
Non-vested SARs at December 31, 2012		150,000	$	5.24
Granted		—		—
Vested		(15,000)	$	5.03
Cancellations		—		—
Non-vested SARs at March 31, 2013		135,000	$	5.03

* Weighted-average