Canadian horse racing

Woodbine Entertainment and bet365 have made horse racing now available to Ontario sports bettors, the track said in a release Friday. "This a great day for Ontario sports bettors and especially for the horse racing industry in the province," said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. "For over a year, we have been working hard with regulators, government agencies and our partners at bet365 to develop the technology and satisfy all requirements to allow players to access pari-mutuel horse racing betting products using accounts with legal gaming operators in Ontario with...

For many in racing, Pink Lloyd (Old Forester) would be a horse of a lifetime. A competitor that year after year would show up and give his best, while continuing to perform at a high level. And for three-time Sovereign Award recipient and Canadian Hall of Fame trainer Robert Tiller, it is no different. "He's just the most amazing horse I've ever been around," said Tiller. "I've won probably around 160 stakes races, and I've had some pretty good horses, but nothing ever like him. To be able to beat...

Woodbine has released a stakes schedule for its 2021 Thoroughbred meet, which has been delayed from its Apr. 17 scheduled opening due to COVID-19 restrictions in the province of Ontario. As it stands, the track is targeting a June 18 start date, with the possibility of opening sooner. The stakes program offers more than C$16.5 million in purses, including 39 graded events and two million-dollar races, the Queen's Plate--still on its original Aug. 22 date--and the Sept. 18 GI Ricoh Woodbine Mile, one of three "Win and You're" in races...

The Jockey Club of Canada has announced the finalists for the 2020 Sovereign Awards, which christens Canada's champions. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 46th Annual Sovereign Awards Ceremony will be held virtually in April. The winners of 12 horse categories and five human categories will be crowned. Finalists in each category follow. Champion 2-year-old female: 'TDN Rising Star' Alda (Munnings), Dreaming of Drew (Speightster), and 'TDN Rising Star' Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown); champion 2-year-old male: Gretzky the Great (Nyquist), Master Spy (Silent Name {Jpn}), Ready to Repeat (More Than...

The 45th Annual Sovereign Awards, honoring Canada's champions for the 2019 season, will be presented by The Jockey Club of Canada May 19. Winners of the 24 Sovereign Awards categories will be announced live during a virtual ceremony at 8 p.m. (EDT). To watch the ceremony streamed live at www.woodbine.com  and HPItv Canada. A digital program will be available for download at https://jockeyclubcanada.com prior to the event.

Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg received provincial clearance Wednesday to open its live racing season May 25. "I'm confident we will be the first racetrack in Canada to open a live race," since the COVID-19 pandemic, the track's chief executive officer, Darren Dunn, told the CBC news outlet. Spectator-free racing will be conducted Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. CDT. The season had been slated to open May 10 but got pushed back because of pandemic precautions. The meet will run until Sep. 15. Health and temperature checks will be...

Woodbine Entertainment and the Canadian horse racing industry are mourning the loss of longtime Thoroughbred trainer Laurie Silvera, who passed away Mar. 2 (click here for obituary). Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Silvera became a licensed Thoroughbred trainer in Canada in 1975. The graded stakes-winning conditioner earned more than 1,000 wins and nearly $26 million in purses throughout his career in North America. "A true gentleman, Laurie was a longtime fixture on the Woodbine backstretch and highly respected among the local racing community for his horsemanship and willingness to help others....