Tag: Canadian Horse Racing

H C Holiday is the lukewarm favorite to win the second jewel of Canada's Triple Crown: Tuesday's Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie.(Image: Michael Burns Photo)

Prince of Wales Comes Without Queen’s Plate Winner Safe Conduct

- 4 min read

You won’t find a Safe Conduct path to a Canadian Triple Crown this year, but you will find an eclectic field for the second jewel of Canada’s Triple Crown – the 86th edition of the Prince of Wales Stakes. That eclectic field of eight, Canadian-bred 3-year-olds goes 1 3/16 miles […]

Safe Conduct and Irad Ortiz Jr. turn aside Riptide Rock (back) and David Moran to win the 162nd Queen's Plate at Woodbine Racetrack. The card produced the second-best betting handle in event history. (Image: Michael Burns Photo)

Woodbine Rides Safe Conduct’s Queen’s Plate Win to Strong Handle

- 2 min read

Spurred by Safe Conduct’s Queen’s Plate victory, Woodbine Racetrack registered the second-highest wagering handle for Queen’s Plate Day in event history. Bettors wagered $16,122,170 on Sunday’s 13-race card at the suburban Toronto, Ontario, Canada track. That ranked second only to 2018’s Queen’s Plate Day handle of $18,005,973. Meanwhile, it surpassed […]

Jolie Olimpica's last victory came 14 months ago in the Grade 2 Monrovia Stakes at Santa Anita. She is one of the favorites in the opening leg of Saturday's Cross Country Pick 5: the Grade 2 Nassau Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Cross Country Pick 5 Features Familiar Names, International Flavor

- 3 min read

Familiar names such as Jolie Olimpica, Split Then Double and Merveilleux, along with promising newcomers like Chileno, Watasha and Volcanic play their parts in Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 wager. This week’s New York Racing Association’s Cross Country Pick 5 comes with international flavor. The wager encompasses races from Saratoga, […]

Pink Lloyd won the 2020 Jacques Cartier Stakes at Woodbine last June. The 9-year-old Canadian-bred gelding goes for his fifth Cartier title Sunday. (Image: Michael Burns Photo)

Canadian Champion Pink Lloyd Ready for His Swan Song Season

- 2 min read

Given his horse’s cute name, trainer Robert Tiller explained Pink Lloyd’s future plans without a trace of irony. The 9-year-old gelding will head to a Canadian retirement farm for Thoroughbreds sometime this year. Emphasis on the “sometime.” “He’ll be a movie star there after being a rock star on the […]

Woodbine's heralded turf course will get plenty of work once the Canadian track opens its 2021 season Saturday. (Image: Woodbine Entertainment)

Oh Canada! Horse Racing Returns to Woodbine on Saturday

- 2 min read

There won’t be any fans in the stands, but Woodbine Racetrack will open for Thoroughbred racing on Saturday. The track is just one beneficiary of the Province of Ontario’s earlier-than-expected move into Step One of its “Roadmap to Recovery” plan. That’s six days earlier than the suburban Toronto track planned […]

Mighty Heart's 7 1/2-length victory in the 2020 Queen's Plate came with the third-largest handle in event history. The 2021 event is Aug. 22. (Image: John Watkins)

Canada’s Queen’s Plate Moves to August, Stays in Late Summer

- 2 min read

Banking on extended time allowing the COVID-19 pandemic to subside and spectators to return, Woodbine Entertainment announced the 162nd running of the Queen’s Plate will take place Sunday, Aug. 22 at Woodbine Racetrack. The first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, the $1 million Queen’s Plate is typically held at […]

Canada's flagship track, Woodbine outside Toronto, benefited from the removal of a controversial provision in a sports betting bill. That bill is making its way through the Canadian government. (Image: Bill Selwyn)

Canadian Horseracing Benefits From Removal of Fixed-Odds Provision

- 3 min read

Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson, one of Canada’s most powerful horseracing executives, praised Canadian legislators for removing a provision in a sports betting bill that would leave racetracks out of revenue earned from fixed-odds wagering on horseracing. The element in question would have legalized fixed-odds wagering on horseracing without revenue-sharing […]

Jockey Daisuke Fukumoto and Mighty Heart raise the hopes of race fans that they can win Canada's first Triple Crown in 17 years. The one-eyed horse, who wears a ball over his missing eye, is the even-money favorite in Saturday's Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine. (Image: Nathan Denette)

From One Eye, Mighty Heart Sees a Path to the Canadian Triple Crown

- 4 min read

Many eyes on Saturday will be on one-eyed Mighty Heart, focused to see if the small 3-year-old can run to his name and become the first Canadian Triple Crown winner in 17 years. Mighty Heart, your even-money favorite, headlines Saturday’s Breeders’ Stakes from Woodbine Racetrack outside Toronto. The 1 ½-mile […]

One-eyed Mighty Heart made his rivals see dirt en route to his dominant Queen's Plate victory. He is the 7/5 favorite for the Canadian Triple Crown's second leg -- the Prince of Wales Stakes. (Image: Michael Burns/Woodbine)

Queen’s Plate Winner Mighty Heart Made Prince of Wales Stakes Favorite

- 3 min read

Mighty Heart’s days of sneaking up on rivals have ended after he blew his rivals away on Saturday in the Queen’s Plate. That explains his 7/5 favorite status for Tuesday’s Prince of Wales Stakes. the second leg of Canada’s Triple Crown. The marquee event at Fort Erie Racetrack in Ontario, […]

At 8/1, Marine Stakes winner Shirl's Speight offers high-flying value in his first Grade 1 race. (Image: Kevin Burns Photography)

Eclectic Cast of Characters Takes On the Woodbine Mile

- 4 min read

The Woodbine Mile field defines the term “eclectic.” You’ve got a Preakness winner, a 7-year-old mare with multiple graded stakes victories, and one of Canada’s most promising 3-year-olds. And all three of them could lose to one of the best closers in Canadian racing. The eclectic field of eight tangles […]

Wonder Gadot beat the boys to win the 2018 Queen's Plate, the oldest continuously run stakes race in North America. It moves to September this year due to the coronavirus. (Image: Woodbine Entertainment)

Canada’s Queen’s Plate Pushed From June to September

- 2 min read

The first leg of Canada’s Triple Crown, the $1 million Queen’s Plate, will run Sept. 12 at its traditional Woodbine home outside Toronto. The Queen’s Plate is North America’s oldest continuously run stakes race and a summer fixture in Canada. Originally scheduled for June 27, it moved to its new […]

Starting June 6, with provincial government approval, horses will hit the first turn at Canada's Woodbine Racetrack. (Image: Woodbine)

Canada’s Woodbine Joins the Racetrack Reopening Parade

- 3 min read

The reopening momentum sweeping across racetracks in the United States caught a wave in Canada with the announcement that Woodbine outside Toronto will reopen June 6. Woodbine Entertainment said it plans to open Mohawk Park for harness racing on June 5, and Woodbine for Thoroughbred racing the following day. Due […]

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