Tag: Queen’s Plate

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 […]

Munnyfor Ro put her Woodbine Oaks rivals in the rear-view mirror. She comes back on three weeks rest trying to do the same in the Queen's Plate at Woodbine. (Image: Michael Burns Photo)

The Attards Set a Family Table for This Year’s Queen’s Plate

- 4 min read

There’s something of a Kevin Attard feel to this year’s Queen’s Plate, the opening jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown. A Kevin Attard feel that defines flooding the zone. The trainer sends out four horses – nearly a third of the 13-horse field – for Sunday’s Queen’s Plate on Woodbine’s […]

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 […]

The Woodbine Racetrack gates open June 18. The Canadian track was shuttered due to a provincial COVID-19-related stay-at-home order issued in April. (Image: Woodbine Entertainment)

After Provincial COVID Shutdown, Woodbine Opens its Gates June 18

- 2 min read

The resumption of horse racing in Canada has a finish line, with Thursday’s announcement that Woodbine Racetrack will open for Thoroughbred racing on Friday, June 18. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the suburban Toronto track and its Standardbred sister track, Woodbine Mohawk Park, remained shut down under Government of Ontario […]

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 […]

Clayton, seen her prevailing by a head in the Plate Trial Stakes, is the 2/1 morning line favorite to win Canada's Queen's Plate. (Image: Michael Burns Photography)

Will Clayton Pick Up Queen’s Plate? Or Will One of the Girls Steal It?

- 4 min read

Think of the Queen’s Plate as Canada’s Kentucky Derby. It’s got the century-and-a-half pedigree, the same 1 ¼-mile distance, and the same historical entrée and bragging rights for the 3-year-old who wins the $1 million race at Woodbine. For Canadian-breds, this is the race everyone wants on their resume. Even […]

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 […]

Queen Elizabeth II presents winning jockey Eurico Rosa Da Silva with the Queen's Plate at Woodbine in 2010. (Image: Michael Burns Photo Ltd.)

Queen’s Plate, Canada’s Most Prestigious Race, Postponed Indefinitely

- 3 min read

Following through on an expected decision, Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson confirmed the 2020 Queen’s Plate race – Canada’s most prestigious horse race — is postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision to postpone the June 27 race came less than two weeks after Woodbine announced it was […]

Jockey John Velazquez holding the Queen's Plate Trophy after filly Wonder Gadot's 2018 triumph. (Image: AP)

We the North: All Eyes on Canada Saturday for Historic Queen’s Plate

- 2 min read

The $1 million Queen’s Plate, Canada’s most important horse race, is being contested for the 160th time Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack, near Toronto. It’s the oldest continually run race in North America, dating back to 1860. A full field of 14 are contesting the race. The early 5/2 post time […]