Canadian Racing

At a recent board meeting of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (CHRHF), the Thoroughbred committees received several updates which were approved in advance of the CHRHF nominations and elections for 2025, the organization said in a press release Wednesday. Glenn Sikura, CHRHF 2023 Thoroughbred Builder Inductee, was appointed as the Thoroughbred Nomination Committee Chair. Robert Landry, CHRHF 2014 Jockey Inductee becomes a member of the Thoroughbred Nomination Committee to fill the position previously held by Tom Cosgrove. A member of the CHRHF Thoroughbred Election Committee since 2019, Ontario-based...

Canadian Hall of Fame jockey and racetrack superintendent Irwin Driedger was awarded the Racetrack Superintendent's Innovator Award during the 2024 Track Superintendent's Field Day. Irwin passed away on May 20, 2023. The award represents accomplishments from the period of 2006 to 2018 when Irwin was the Director of Thoroughbred Racing Surfaces at Woodbine Racetrack. The Racetrack Superintendent's Innovator Award is given to recognize the critical professionals who maintain the racing surfaces for safety and fairness. Previous recipients of the Racetrack Superintendent's Innovator Award includes Joe King, Leif Dickinson and Dennis...

Mark Casse has only won the Queen's Plate/King's Plate three times, which is a little surprising when you consider how he dominates racing at Woodbine. But when 13 Canadian-breds line up for Saturday's first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown Casse will hold a clear upper hand. Among his three horses are 7-5 morning line favorite My Boy Prince (Cairo Prince) and 2-1 second choice Essex Serpent (Honor Code). He will also send out long shot Midnight Mascot (Army Mule), who is 10-1 in the line. He believes this year's...

Gunnar Lindberg has been named the 2024 recipient of the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award. The award is given to the person, Canadian-born, Canadian-raised or regular rider in the country for more than five years, who has made significant contributions to Thoroughbred racing. It is named in memory of the Cuban-born Gomez, who died of complications after a three-horse accident in the 1980 Canadian Oaks. "I was quite surprised," said Lindberg, who recorded 997 career riding wins, including 70 stakes. "Julie Bell [Woodbine's Senior Manager of Stakes Department and US &...

The name Canuck Racing Club might not be a familiar one to most folks in the horse racing industry, however at least one of the personalities behind it most certainly is. Less than two weeks ago in Saratoga Springs, New York, bloodstock agent Donato Lanni made his presence felt when signing the tickets on five yearlings--led by a pair of sales-topping colts--totaling over $9 million in gross expenditures. Already well established south of the border, the Montreal-raised Lanni decided to forge a deeper stake into the Canadian industry over the...

Counterforce (Smart Strike), currently Canada's leading second-crop sire and 2022 champion freshman sire, will relocate from Road's End Farm in British Columbia to Stride Away Thoroughbreds in the Okanagan region for the 2024 season. The stakes winner is a half-brother to GII winner Cezanne (Curlin) and out of a half-sister to the dam of Saturday's GI Belmont S. winner Arcangelo (Arrogate). "He's a lovely horse, with a magnificent pedigree," said Stride Away co-owner Cathy Reggelsen. "He came out firing as a freshman last year and that's certainly continued this season...

Woodbine Entertainment and the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association of Ontario (HBPA) have reached an agreement for a new two-year deal that commits to $62m in purses for the 2023 and 2024 Thoroughbred racing meets, both released in a statement Friday. The deal also includes a 133-raceday meet in 2023 and 129 race dates in 2024. Despite the fewer race days next year, the track expects the number of races offered to be substantially the same as 2023 through more optimized scheduling during the meet. As part of the agreement,...

Woodbine Entertainment unveiled the stakes schedule Monday for the 2023 Thoroughbred racing season at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. The program will offer more than $17 million in purses, including 39 graded stakes, five Grade I events and two $1 million classics, The King's Plate and Ricoh Woodbine Mile. "Highlighted by the return of the Canadian International, and the first running of The King's Plate in 70 years, this year's stakes program at Woodbine will be as exciting as ever," said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. The 164th running of...

The Jockey Club of Canada has announced the finalists for the 2022 Sovereign Awards recognizing Canada's outstanding achievements in Canadian Thoroughbred Racing and Breeding. The winner of each category, along with Canada's Horse of the Year for 2022, will be announced during the 48th Annual Sovereign Award ceremony held Thursday, April 13 at Universal Eventspace in Vaughan, Ontario. The finalists in each of the following categories are listed in alphabetical order. Champion Two-Year-Old Female: Cairo Consort (Cairo Prince), Last Call (English Channel), Renegade Rebel (Nyquist). Champion Two-Year-Old Male: Philip My...

Sir For Sure (Sligo Bay {Ire}), a 3-year-old gelding, was the top earning Ontario Sired runner in 2022, earning his connections $25,000 from the Ontario Racing's Thoroughbred Improvement Program, which annually distributes $200,000 to breeders through its Ontario Sired Reward of Excellence Program. The three highest worldwide earners in four categories, 2-year-old males and females and 3-year-old males and females, will receive $25,000 for first, $15,000 for second, and $10,000 for third. USD and CAD earnings are considered. Rounding out the male category for leading 2-year-old colt was Phillip My...

The historic Queen's Plate, North America's longest continuously run stakes race, will be renamed The King's Plate. Woodbine will run the next edition of the Canadian Classic Sunday, Aug. 20. Entry conditions for the 2023 King's Plate are unchanged with the race remaining open to all 3-year-old Thoroughbreds foaled in Canada. "The Plate is one of the most celebrated events in horse racing, and we're proud to celebrate its history while starting a new chapter under the banner of The King's Plate," said Jim Lawson, Woodbine Entertainment's CEO. "Those who...

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)...