Woodbine

In September of 2022, an Ontario-bred by the name of Patches O'Houlihan kicked off his career at Woodbine, winning a 5 1/2-furlong test by 4 1/2 lengths. Less than two months later, 20-year-old Sofia Vives launched her career as a jockey while recording her first victory aboard Bodacious Miss (Bodemeister), also in a 5 1/2-furlong race at the Etobicoke oval. While over a year removed from joining forces, the son of Reload and the South Carolina native both rode the wave of 2023, capping off their respective seasons with a...

These are the dog days of the racing season at Woodbine. The weather is cold, the meet is winding down and the circuit's best horses have been turned out waiting for the spring. Some have headed to Florida. But there was a reason to be excited about last Saturday's card, even if it were run in a snowstorm. Owned by LNJ Foxwoods, trained by Josie Carrolll and having sold for €1.4 million at the 2022 Arqana Deauville August Yearling Sale, the 3-year-old filly Earhart (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) was a dazzling...

When the TDN staff decided to make Patch Adams (Into Mischief) and Chasten (Into Mischief) 'TDN Rising Stars' after their maiden wins Saturday at Churchill Downs history was made by trainer Brad Cox. Never before has a trainer had two Rising Stars on the same day. Both were obvious choices. Patch Adams ran away from his competition to win by 10 lengths. Chasten, a winner by 1 ½ lengths, wasn't quite as impressive, but that she is half-sister to 2023 Older Filly & Mare Champion Idiomatic (Curlin) obviously swayed the...

Responding to a rash of recent breakdowns at Woodbine, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), which regulates racing in the province, has taken steps it hopes will lead to fewer injuries. Woodbine has now had six fatalities since the Nov. 9 card in which two horses died and the remainder of the day's program was cancelled, as was the next scheduled day of racing. The biggest change is that any horse that has raced within the previous 14 calendar days is ineligible to race and will be scratched...

With a horse having to be euthanized Thursday at Woodbine and another one on Friday, the Toronto-area track has now had six fatalities since the Nov. 9 card in which two horses died and the remainder of the day's program was cancelled, as was the next scheduled day of racing. Woodbine's Tapeta surface has long been considered to be one of the safest tracks in North America, which makes the rash of breakdowns particularly unusual. "We are closely monitoring the situation and remain in continuous communication with our regulator, veterinarians,...

A five-horse spill during the opening race of Woodbine's Friday card landed jockeys Justin Stein, Edgar Zenteno, and Da-Sean Gaskin in a local hospital while Woodbine communications reported that all horses involved walked off. The incident happened on the far turn of a $10,000 maiden claimer and appeared to have been triggered by No Layups (Preservationist) clipping heels in front of the pack with Whiskey N Ice (Old Forester). As No Layups tumbled over, the field behind had little time to react and four other trailing horses also went down....

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...

Longtime track superintendent Juan Meza will be retained by Woodbine Entertainment as a Racing Surfaces Consultant, the track said on Monday. Meza served as the track superintendent at Golden Gate Fields for over two decades up until the track ceased operations this past June. Like Woodbine, Golden Gate Fields held racing on a Tapeta (all-weather) racing surface, installing the synthetic track in 2007. Meza's brings an extensive knowledge in Tapeta to Woodbine and has worked closely alongside the surface manufacturer (Tapeta Footings). "The safety and well-being of both our equine...

Canadian champion Tyson (by Tapit), purchased for $175,000 by Darryl and Jill Myers when topping the final session of last week's Keeneland November sale, will stand his first season at the couple's Stone Jug Ranch which is a new Thoroughbred operation in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, the breeders said in a release on Sunday. "We've talked about [standing stallions] in the past," said the Myers's bloodstock advisor Ed Price. "But things got serious a week or two ago when we saw this horse." Bred and raced by Hill 'n' Dale Equine and...

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...

Emma-Jayne Wilson, involved in a Oct. 25 spill at Woodbine in which she suffered neck and pelvic fractures, remains in a Toronto hospital and is bedridden, but is already looking forward to launching a comeback when Woodbine re-opens in April. Wilson, 43, was riding the horse Ready Shakespeare (More Than Ready) in that day's second race. The horse fell after suffering an apparent heart attack and Wilson was thrown to the track. "I remember everything," she said from her hospital bed at Milton District Hospital. "Right from the git-go, I...

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...