Woodbine

Bidding is now open on Fasig-Tipton Digital for the "Kate's Kingdom Flash Sale," a one-horse online auction of Kate's Kingdom, winner of the GIII Ontario Matron S. at Woodbine this past weekend. Bidding on the racing/broodmare prospect will close this Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 2 p.m. EDT. A 4-year-old daughter of Animal Kingdom, Kate's Kingdom earned a career-best 6+ Ragozin figure in the Ontario Matron victory over Woodbine's main track. It was her second stakes win this year, increasing her earnings to $211,855. She is a winner on both turf...

Tall Oaks homebred Avie's Flatter (Flatter), 2018 Canadian champion 2-year-old, is retiring from racing to stand stud at Ontario's Colebrook Farms. Winner of the Cup and Saucer S. and the Coronation Futurity at two, he went on at three to win Keeneland's GIII Kentucky Utilities Transylvania S. and place in each leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. From ages four to six, he took both the GII Neartic S. and the GII Connaught Cup and also placed in the GII Eclipse S. and the GIII Bold Venture S. He retires...

Andrew Gaughan has been appointed the next Independent Chair of the Ontario Racing Board of Directors. Jamie Martin will be an Executive Consultant to the board. Gaughan became a manager with Woodbine Entertainment Group (then the Ontario Jockey Club) in 1994, and over the next three decades served in senior leadership positions with WEG, Magna Entertainment Corporation, Scientific Games Corporation (NASDAQ listed), and Sportech PLC a UK based publicly traded (LSE) gaming technology business. "Andrew is the ideal candidate to step into the role," said outgoing Independent Chair John Hayes....

There were three Grade I races on the grass for fillies and mares in North America Saturday; to the surprise of no one, Chad Brown-trained and Peter Brant-owned mares took center stage, following up In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire})'s win in Keeneland's GI First Lady S. with a mild upset by Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) in the GI E. P. Taylor S. at Woodbine. Michael Tabor partners with Brant in Rougir, a Group 1 winner in France and a GSW in the U.S. Heavy even-money favorite Moira (Ghostzapper), winner of...

With Breeders' Cup weekend at Keeneland right around the corner, 15 graded stakes--including seven 'Win and You're In' events--will take place throughout North America on an absolutely loaded day of racing Saturday. Five of those graded races will go down in Lexington, including a stacked renewal of the 'Win and You're In' GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity. The overflow field of 14 (plus two AE's)'s lone graded winner, GI Hopeful S. hero and 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence), bypassed last weekend's GI Champagne S. in favor of this first attempt around...

GISW Gretzky the Great (Nyquist) has been retired and will stand the upcoming breeding season at Ocala Stud, the farm announced today. Campaigned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber and trained by Mark Casse, Gretzky the Great took Woodbine's GI Summer S. as a 2-year-old. A $295,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling purchase, Gretzky the Great broke his maiden in his second career start at Woodbine. He then took the Soaring Free S. before his win in the GI Summer S., ending his season with a sixth-place run in the...

Moira (Ghostzapper), the dominant winner of this year's Queen's Plate over males, will start Saturday at Woodbine in the GI E.P. Taylor S. It will be her first try against older horses and her first on the turf. Trainer Kevin Attard had also been considering the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S., a turf race at Keeneland restricted to 3-year-old fillies. "The race is at home and at a distance of a mile and a quarter," Attard said. "She had a work over the turf course [five furlongs in...

For the second consecutive year, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) will be promoted at Woodbine Racetrack's Aftercare Day Oct. 8. TAA will be recognized throughout the race day, including in the presentation of the GII Nearctic Stakes. Patrons can support the organization during a day of racing that includes jockey pledges, and TAA Best Turned Out Horse Awards. Riders will have the opportunity to designate their earnings to the TAA for any races won Saturday, Oct. 8. The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Best Turned Out Horse Awards will be conducted in...

Woodbine Entertainment has made some changes to its senior leadership team, promoting Michael Copeland to President, Commercial and Tom Via to President, Operations. Both will report to CEO Jim Lawson. "We have a tremendous amount of opportunity before us to grow our business and the horse racing industry in Ontario," said Lawson. "I strongly believe we have the right leadership and people in place--and now we have the right structure that will enable us to maximize and fully leverage those opportunities." Copeland, who joined Woodbine Entertainment in 2021 as Chief...

X-Men Racing 2 LLC and SF Racing's Last Call (English Channel) broke her maiden in style with a 21-1 upset in the GI Natalma S. at Woodbine, a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in November at Keeneland. Second on debut at this venue July 23, Last Call was fourth last out going seven panels over this course Aug. 20. Dismissed by the bettors while shedding blinkers here, the $30,000 KEESEP acquisition was unhurried early, racing in second last off the rail as Star...

When last seen on these shores, Godolphin's Modern Games (Ire) (c, 3, Dubawi {Ire}--Modern Ideals {GB}, by New Approach {Ire}) was embroiled in the controversy of all controversies, when erroneously scratched, then allowed to run--albeit for purse money only--in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, which he duly won. The homebred is likely back on his way to the Breeders' Cup after pummeling overmatched rivals by five lengths in Saturday's GI Ricoh Woodbine Mile, for which Modern Games earns an all-expenses-paid trip to Keeneland. Allowed to drift back to sit...

Mysterious Night (Ire) (c, 2, Dark Angel {Ire}--Mistrusting {Ire}, by Shamardal) made it back-to-back victories for Godolphin in the GI Pattison Summer S. Saturday, careering away to score by 5 3/4 lengths in the finish from Klaravich Stables' Appraise (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) for an Irish-bred exacta. The Summer S., won last year by Albahr (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), is a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Keeneland the first weekend of November. Tightening from 3-5 into 1-2 as the gates flew, the homebred--who wore...