Woodbine

The New York Racing Association will host a Cross Country Pick 5 with graded stakes action from Saratoga and three races at Woodbine Saturday. Live coverage of all the sequence's races will be available with Saratoga Live on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. Woodbine will start the sequence in race eight. Stakes action starts next at the Spa with the GIII Waya S. Action returns to Woodbine for races nine and 10. The final leg is the GI Runhappy Travers S. The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is...

Jonathan Zammit has been named Ontario Racing Management's new Executive Director. Zammit, the former Vice President of Thoroughbred Racing for Woodbine Entertainment, succeeds Katherine Curry who held the position since the formation of Ontario Racing in 2018. "We are excited to welcome Jonathan's leadership, experience and financial acumen as we work with all stakeholders to further advance our efforts in sustaining a vibrant and financially sound horse racing industry for decades to come," said John Hayes, Independent Chair of Ontario Racing's Board of Directors. "On behalf of Ontario Racing, I...

6th-Woodbine, C$108,646, Msw, 8-2, 2yo, 6f (AWT) (off turf), 1:09.84, ft. GRETZKY THE GREAT (c, 2, Nyquist--Pearl Turn {MSP, $182,560}, by Bernardini), sent off the hot 1-2 choice, jumped out to an early advantage, led through splits of :22.77 and :45.09 and turned on all boosters late, crossing the wire 4 1/2 lengths ahead of Liars Club (Broken Vow). The Ontario bred kicked off his career for Mark Casse with a second-place effort sprinting five panels over the local turf July 12 behind Ready to Repeat (More Than Ready), who...

The New York Racing Association, Inc., in conjunction with Monmouth Park and Woodbine Racetrack, kicks off the 'Cross Country Pick 5' Saturday--GI Whitney Day--at Saratoga Race Course. The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. The Cross Country Pick 5, which will run every Saturday through the remainder of 2020, will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool. Cross Country Pick 5 Races - Saturday, Aug. 1: Leg 1 - Woodbine, Race 9: (5:26 p.m.) Leg 2 - Monmouth, Race 11: (5:31 p.m.) Leg 3 -...

When Pink Lloyd (Old Forester) ended his 2019 campaign with a perfect six-for-six record it seemed almost inconceivable that the he could do any better this year. He would be eight in 2020 and, perhaps, the aging process would do what very few competitors had been able to accomplish over  the years--give him a problem. Not that trainer Bob Tiller was worried. "Age doesn't matter," Tiller said. "It's just a number." That's not always the case, but the popular Canadian sprinter may be about to add another remarkable chapter onto...

The minimum weight for jockeys will be raised to 118 pounds at Canada's Woodbine Racetrack, effective Thursday, Aug. 6, in conjunction with Condition Book 4. Woodbine Entertainment made the announcement Saturday in consultation with the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association of Ontario (HBPA) with a statement that "the health and welfare of our jockeys was the driving factor for this decision, and the new base weight aligns with racing jurisdictions in Kentucky, Florida, and New York." Depending on conditions and age, top weights will be up to 125 pounds. Stakes...

Well-bred Shirl's Speight turned in one of the more impressive debuts of 2020 when he demolished nine rivals in front-running fashion over seven grassy furlongs here July 4, and the 'TDN Rising Star' handled two turns and Tapeta just as well Saturday to make the grade in Woodbine's GIII Marine S. Away well from the outside seven post, the favorite was content to sit second locked on to frontrunner Untitled (Khozan)'s right hip through splits of :24.59 and :48.68. He was asked for more by Rafael Hernandez heading into the...

Ten Broeck Farm's Owlette (Frac Daddy) looks to record her fourth stakes win in Saturday's GIII Selene S. at Woodbine. Conditioned by Wesley Ward, the Ontario-bred filly took last year's Shady Well S. and Victorian Queen S. and subsequently won the June 13 Star Shoot S. in her 2020 bow. Never worse than second in six career starts, including four wins over Woodbine's Tapeta, Owlette will be joined for the first time by Luis Contreras. Always armed and dangerous at Woodbine, Mark Casse saddles a pair of fillies for Gary...

Despite facing more seasoned rivals in Saturday's GIII Marine S. at Woodbine, Shirl's Speight (Speightstown) looms large in the traditional primer for the Queen's Plate, scheduled for Sept. 12. Sent off at 3-1 for a trainer not typically known for his first-time starters, the Roger Attfield trainee took control in the early going of the seven-furlong turf test July 4 and rolled home an emphatic eight-length winner under Rafael Hernandez, becoming a TDN Rising Star in the process. The Charles Fipke hombred is out of Perfect Shirl (Perfect Soul {Ire})--a...

Post time for live Thoroughbred racing on Thursdays at Woodbine Racetrack will shift to 3:20 p.m. ET, effective next week July 16. The schedule change, which means live racing will begin 25 minutes earlier than the original post time, is expected to remain in effect for Thursdays through early September.

Shirl's Speight (Speightstown)'s dam Perfect Shirl (Perfect Soul {Ire}) may have rallied from far back when she upended the 2011 GI Breeders' Cup F/M Turf at 27-1, but Shirl's Speight showed off impressive speed from the first jump Saturday at Woodbine to garner the 'TDN Rising Star' distinction. Sporting a mostly unassuming worktab over the local Tapeta, the Chuck Fipke homebred quickly assumed command and doled out splits of :23.02 and :45.38 while traveling well within himself. Rafael Hernandez still hadn't moved a muscle on the 3-1 shot as they...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency PLUM PRETTY COLT DEBUTS AT GULFSTREAM 7th-GP, $47K, Msw, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 3:00p.m. Whisper Hill Farm homebred PLUM FUNNY (Distorted Humor), a son of MGISW Plum Pretty (Medaglia d'Oro), makes his career bow in this test for Ralph Nicks. Mandy Pope paid $4.2-million for GI Kentucky Oaks victress and millionaire Plum Pretty at the 2012 Keeneland November Sale. She has produced one winner from two foals of racing age and her recent foals include the juvenile filly Plum Awesome (Curlin) and a yearling colt by...