Woodbine

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 1st-SAR, $100K, Msw, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, post time: 11:35 a.m. ET Though there are more fashionable pedigrees on display for the Saturday opener at the Spa, DAUNT (Nyquist) may present longshot players something to grab on to. Owned and bred by Marc Keller and trained by Bobby Ribaudo--who teamed to win back-to-back renewals of the GI Sword Dancer Invitational in 2007 and 2008 with Grand Couturier (GB)--the February-foaled dark bay is the first produce for his dam Promotional (Artie Schiller), third in the GIII Rood...

Woodbine Entertainment has cancelled its Thursday, Aug. 26, card due to extreme heat and high humidity. A heat warning has been issued by the Meteorological Service of Canada to the Toronto area of Ontario, where Woodbine is located. Live racing is scheduled to resume Friday, Aug. 27, with the first race at 4:50 p.m. ET.

It's been a difficult few years for Phil Serpe and his stable. Like many smaller outfits trying to compete at a top-tier racing circuit, he has seen his number of horses dwindle as owners move in favor of consolidating their operations in the barns of "super trainers". Partly due to circumstance, partly due to that increasing monopolization of the sport, Serpe has had an especially trying 2021. Heading into this past weekend, he had just two winners to his name since the calendar turned--a 4-year-old maiden-breaker named King Angelo (Lemon...

A total of $16,122,170 was wagered on Sunday's 13-race Queen's Plate card at Woodbine, including $3,491,564 on the feature. The total handle for the day is second-only to the 2019 event total of $18,005,973 and tops the 2020 handle of $14,532,678 by 11%. "This year's Queen's Plate brought the energy of our great sport back in full-force to Woodbine with an outstanding crowd and thrilling racing," said Jim Lawson. "It's evident that this excitement was felt across North America and we're elated to see the support this great day of...

Silent Poet, a winner of both the GII Connaught Cup and his second-straight running of the GII Nearctic S. last term, bounced back from a trio of off-the-board efforts to upset Sunday's GI Highlander S. at Woodbine. The 9-1 shot sat perched just behind odds-on and in-form filly Caravel, took over from that foe with relative ease in the stretch and kept finding to hold off a furious late bid from Admiralty Pier. Caravel held on for third. The winner, who was 12th in the 2018 Queen's Plate, was last...

WellSpring Stables' New York invader Safe Conduct (Bodemeister) pressed, pounced and just held off the late-charging Riptide Rock (Point of Entry) to win the 162nd Queen's Plate in a dramatic finish at Woodbine Sunday. With top U.S. jockey Irad Ortiz, riding in his first Queen's Plate, in the irons and making his first start over a synthetic surface, the 3-1 favorite was under a hold while tracking longshot pacesetter Take a Chance (Munnings) through fractions of :24.01 and :48.37. The bay colt rolled up to challenge the pacesetter nearing the...

First Empire, fittingly trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, became the first stakes winner for freshman sire Classic Empire with a win in Saturday's Soaring Free S. at Woodbine. He dueled and tired to fifth in his debut over the all-weather July 4, then dueled free when switched to grass to graduate here Aug. 1. Backed as the second choice in this one, First Empire forced the issue from an outside second, began to shake clear rounding the far turn and gamely kept finding after switching to his left...

Our Flash Drive (Ghostzapper) looks to extend her hot streak in Sunday's GIII Ontario Colleen S. at Woodbine. After two unsuccessful starts at Saratoga, the Live Oak homebred broke through in her first try on the local synthetic June 19. She followed suit with a decisive score in the two-turn GIII Selene S. July 10 and tried turf for the first time here. Her trainer Mark Casse also saddles Salty as Can Be (Into Mischief), who captured a local optional claimer last time July 15; and I Get It (Get Stormy),...

The fleet-footed filly Caravel (Mizzen Mast) rides a hot streak into her first try for Graham Motion and first at the highest level in the GI Highlander S. at Woodbine. Bred and raced by her previous trainer Elizabeth Merryman, the gray captured The Very One S. at Pimlico May 14 and followed suit with a win in Monmouth's Goldwood S. June 25. Bobby Flay bought into the filly after that score and she carried his silks to victory in Saratoga's GIII Caress S. July 24. While Merryman remains part-owner, Caravel...

Munnyfor Ro (Munnings) looks to become the fifth filly in the last 10 years to beat the boys in Woodbine's most prestigious race, the $1-million Queen's Plate S. for Ontario-breds. Breaking her maiden on the grass while part of the Brian Lynch's shedrow this spring, the chestnut was third in a turfy allowance at Churchill May 8 and was sixth in the GIII Regret S. three weeks later. Sent back to Kevin Attard, she checked in second on the local synthetic in the GIII Selene S. and followed that with...

The Ladies of the Lawn Series, a points-based bonus series that includes three turf races for fillies and mares, will return at Woodbine. First launched in 2019, the series awards the owner of the horse who has accumulated the most points a $50,000 bonus, while the second- and third-most points owner will receive $15,000 and $10,000 bonuses. The series kicks off Aug. 22 with the Dance Smartly S., followed by the Canadian S. Sept. 18, and finishes with the E.P. Taylor S. Oct 17. As part of the Ladies of...

Penny Oleksiak and Kayla Sanchez, each a multiple medallist in swimming at the recently completed Summer Olympics in Tokyo, have been named celebrity ambassadors for this Sunday's C$1-million Queen's Plate at Woodbine. "At Woodbine Entertainment we are so proud of our Canadian Olympians and how they represented our country in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games," said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. "We are thrilled to have Penny and Kayla participate in the traditions of The Queen's Plate which will also serve as a reflection of the gratitude and pride we...