Queen's Plate

It was quite a few days for Canadian-based trainer Kevin Attard. On Saturday, he won his first Breeders' Cup race with Moira (Ghostzapper) in the GI Maker's Mark Filly & Mare Turf and some 48 hours later she went through the ring for $4.3 million. Knowing he'd have plenty to say, we invited Attard to join us on this week's TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland. He admitted that saying goodbye to the best horse he has ever trained was difficult. "Well, right now it's extremely difficult, no doubt...

Kevin Attard already knows it will be difficult, going back home to his barn at Woodbine and seeing an empty stall where stable star Moira (Ghostzapper) has been a steady presence for the past four years. The Canadian Horse of the Year and millionaire will perform in what will likely be her last dance in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Saturday before she goes through the ring on Nov. 4 at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale. "This is probably one of the hardest things I've done in...

A weanling colt by Ghostzapper (hip 29) brought the top price of the Fasig-Tipton December Mixed Sale Tuesday in Timonium when selling for $82,000 to Machmer Hall. The bay colt, bred in Maryland by Owen Kiernan and consigned by Northview Stallion Station, is the first foal out of the unraced Dance All Day (Exaggerator). The mare is a half-sister to 2021 Queen's Plate winner Safe Conduct (Bodemeister) and to stakes winner Dancing Duchess (Munnings). She RNA'd for $21,000 with this foal in utero at the 2023 Keeneland January sale. The...

The King's Plate will be held in August for the third straight year in 2024 when it will be run Aug. 17 at Woodbine Racetrack. "This year's King's Plate was a big success, delivering a record handle, sold-out crowd and really exciting racing," said Michael Copeland, CEO of Woodbine. "The third weekend in August has been a good spot for attracting a quality field on the track and an energetic crowd off the track. Building on our momentum created at this year's Plate, we are excited to make the event...

The 2022 Canadian Horse of the Year Moira (Ghostzapper--Devine Aida, by Unbridled's Song) fetched $3 million to the phone bid of DM Racing, an anonymous racing partnership, to lead the early results of the broodmare and racing prospect section at Tuesday's Fasig-Tipton November sale. Moira was the winner of the fastest Queen's Plate in history last year and was last seen finishing third in Saturday's GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf behind Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}). Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, agent, consigned the Canadian champion, who...

Edited Press Release Jockey Gary Boulanger, whose numerous career highlights include a Queen's Plate victory, has decided to call it a career. "It's the right time," Boulanger, 55, told Woodbine Communications. "I don't feel I have anything left to prove. I am so grateful to all the trainers, owners and my fellow riders for their support. Just like anyone who rides horses, there are many ups and downs, but you always find a way to persevere." A 2020 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee, the native of Alberta enjoyed...

The 164th King's Plate generated the largest single-card handle in Woodbine Racetrack history on Sunday afternoon. A total of $18,127,049.67 was wagered on Sunday's 13-race King's Plate card, eclipsing the previous record of $18,005,973.60 from the 2019 Queen's Plate. The record handle is also a significant increase from last year's Queen's Plate handle of $13.6 million. "It's exciting to have ushered in a new era for the Plate in record-breaking fashion," said Jim Lawson, CEO of Woodbine Entertainment. "We felt good about the buzz surrounding the first King's Plate in...

Sovereign Award and Queen's Plate-winning trainer Dan Vella has joined Woodbine as Horse People Liaison. Vella will be a point of contact for owners and trainers as it relates to opportunities and feedback regarding race conditions, track surface matters, backstretch maintenance, equine safety and race day logistics. "Dan is a highly regarded figure on our backstretch that has his finger on the pulse of our racing community," Jim Lawson, Woodbine Entertainment CEO, said. "Having the ability to add someone like Dan, who has spent over 50 years on our backstretch...

Each year, the team at the TDN designates horses early in their career who display enough promise to become an eventual graded-stakes winner. In 2017, a total of 80 horses racing on North American soil received the honor, but how many actually went on to achieve success? The class is led by the achievements of its lone Eclipse Award winner, 2020 champion turf female Rushing Fall (More Than Ready). A 2-year-old in 2017, the half-sister to SW & MGSP Milam (Street Sense) earned her tag with a half-length defeat of...

Eclipse and Sovereign Award winner Kazushi Kimura earned his second consecutive Woodbine jockey crown at the recently concluded Woodbine Thoroughbred meet with 152 wins. Overall his mounts earned $8.9 million (CDN). Born in Hokkaido, Japan, Kimura joined the Woodbine jockey colony as a 19-year-old apprentice in 2018. He finished his first Woodbine campaign sixth in the standings with 89 wins and his mounts totaled more than $2.3 million in earnings which earned him an Eclipse Award as North America's outstanding apprentice jockey. He also took home the Sovereign Award as...

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...

I called the elite bloodstock agent Donato Lanni last Wednesday only to tell him I'd call him again Sunday and to expect my call. I was fortunate he picked up, because he was on a golf course enjoying a rare day off following a busy Keeneland September sale where he'd purchased a number of million-dollar yearlings among many others. When we made plans to speak again, neither of us mentioned why I'd be calling. I didn't want to jinx him, with Cave Rock (Arrogate), War Like Goddess (English Channel), and...