AGCO

Woodbine 'Confident' About Track Conditions As End of Season Nears

Edited Press Release Officials at Woodbine Entertainment have expressed confidence in the all-weather track at Woodbine despite recent problems with the surface resulting in the deaths of multiple horses, claiming that the track is in 'optimal condition for safe training and racing' with only a handful of live dates left in the 2024 season. In a release issued Thursday morning, the track said that, since the cancellation of the final two races on Nov. 9 and the scrapping of the Nov. 10 program in the interest of equine safety, 'Woodbine...

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Horse Euthanized After Last Race At Woodbine On Saturday, Track Deemed Safe By AGCO For Sunday

During the finale of a 12-race card at Woodbine Racetrack on Saturday, Flawless Ruler (Honor Code) was eased at the top of the lane during a $15,000 claimer going a mile and a sixteenth over the all-weather course, was vanned off, and after an examination by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO)-licensed veterinarians at the barn, the 5-year-old gelding was humanely euthanized, the track said via a press release late Saturday. Following a thorough investigation of the incident, the veterinarians concluded that the injury was unlikely to be...

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Training and Racing to Resume at Woodbine

Woodbine, which cancelled both racing and training effective two races before the end of Saturday's card after three separate incidents on the Tapeta surface, will reopen to training Wednesday morning and is scheduled to resume live racing Thursday. The all-weather surface underwent "a thorough review and extensive maintenance conducted over the last couple of days," said officials from Woodbine Entertainment in a Wednesday afternoon release. "The safety of our horses and riders is our highest priority and we have been working diligently over the last couple of days to ensure...

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Woodbine Cancels Sunday Card As Precautionary Measure After Three Breakdowns On Saturday

Woodbine Entertainment has cancelled training and the scheduled race card for Sunday, Nov. 10, as a precautionary measure to prioritize the safety and well-being of the horses and jockeys after three catastrophic breakdowns took place on Saturday, the track said in a release early on Sunday morning. On Saturday morning during workouts at Woodbine, an unnamed horse suffered a breakdown. During the second race on the card, Social Dancer (Society's Chairman) took an awkward step at the half-mile marker, had to be eased and was then vanned off via equine...

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Woodbine Cancels Final Two Races, Autumn Stakes To Run Nov. 16

The final two races on Saturday's live racing program at Woodbine outside of Toronto, including the GIII Autumn Stakes, were cancelled "in the best interest of equine safety," according to a release from Woodbine Entertainment Group. The decision was taken following consultation with the local Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, the Jockeys' Guild and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). The track successfully staged two of the three graded events carded for Saturday, the GIII Maple Leaf Stakes and the GIII Bessarabian Stakes. The Autumn Stakes will not...

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Woodbine Board Adds Krembil And Mungham As Directors

Woodbine Entertainment has named Mark Krembil and Tom Mungham to its Board of Directors, the track said in a press release on Friday. The appointments of Krembil, a principal of Chiefswood Stables, and Mungham, a former CEO and Registrar of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), are subject to AGCO approval. "We are excited to welcome Mark [Krembil] and Tom [Mungham] to our Board of Directors," said Jim Lawson, executive chair of Woodbine Entertainment. "Their extensive leadership, knowledge, and industry experience will be invaluable as we work to...

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Canadian Trainer Suspended 20 Years for Drug Violations

Trainer Robert Gerl has been suspended 20 years and fined $100,000 after two horses under his care tested positive for ostarine, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) announced Tuesday. The drug acts much like anabolic steroids in that it is used to create anabolic activity and enhance muscle growth by directly stimulating androgen receptors. A non-therapeutic substance, it has not been approved for human use or consumption in the U.S., or in any other country. The AGCO alleges that two horses trained by Gerl, Arafat (War On Gaza)...

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Twenty Confirmed Cases of EHV-1, One Death Now Reported at Woodbine

Twenty horses on the Woodbine backstretch have now tested positive for the equine herpesvirus EHV-1 and one has died from the infectious disease, according to a release from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. Sunday, it was reported that two horses residing in Barn 12 had tested positive for the neurotopic strain of EHV-1, and the AGCO reported that all 59 horses in that barn have now been tested. "The affected horses are in isolation or have been sent to the Ontario Veterinary College for treatment," the AGCO said....

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