Fort Erie

The Aug. 15 C$1-million King's Plate, won in highly impressive fashion by the filly Luster (Knicks Go), attracted handle of C$4,202,181, a 4.5% increase from the 2025 renewal, officials at Woodbine Entertainment said in a release Monday. The 13-race program, featuring five stakes races in addition to the main event, generated more than C$14.8 million in all-sources wagering, fifth-highest for a King's Plate program. The C$1,242,081 win pool on the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown broke the previous record set in 2023. "From the first race to the...

Over $10 million will be infused into the Ontario Thoroughbred horse racing industry as part of the regional government's plan in Canada to increase support to protect agriculture and rural jobs across the province, Ontario Racing said via a press release on Thursday. The organization's representative board of directors voted to direct 83 percent of the additional funds toward Ontario's breeding sector and racing participants. Highlights of how the additional funding will be allocated this year specific to the Thoroughbred industry include: An increase of $5 million for the Thoroughbred...

It was an 8-1 upset Tuesday in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie as Runaway Again pushed past the tiring King's Plate winner Mansetti in the final strides to win the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. A debut maiden special weight winner at Woodbine going 1 1/16 miles, Runaway Again endured a rough trip and came home an eased-up 10th in the King's Plate over the Tapeta Aug. 16. With just two prior starts to his name, the Stronach Stables-owned gelding came in as the least...

An ultra-long-distance race scheduled on the closing day of a season used to be a staple of North American racing, but these days only a handful of tracks still card (or attempt to fill) them. Fort Erie is one of the few tracks that keeps this offbeat tradition alive, and the Ontario oval doesn't skimp on its version of a marathon: Tuesday's "getaway day" ninth race on the final 10-race program of the meet will go at 2 miles 70 yards. Known locally as the "Tour de Fort," what the...

Stronach Stables's Vitality (Street Boss), sixth at 38-1 in the King's Plate Stakes Aug. 23, jumped up significantly in his dirt debut to deliver a powerful win in Tuesday's Prince of Wales Stakes, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. Having just broken his maiden two starts back for trainer Harold Ladouceur at Woodbine July 19, the chestnut gelding lined up as a 9-1 shot here. Drawn just outside of the filly Airosa (Uncle Mo), he settled in the second flight of runners past the wire for the first...

On paper, it looks like 8-5 morning line favorite Paramount Prince (Society's Chairman) is the horse to beat in Tuesday's $400,000 Prince of Wales S. at Fort Erie, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. He's perfect around two turns and is coming off a front-running victory in the first leg of the series, the King's Plate. And once again, there doesn't appear to be another horse in the field who can keep this front-runner honest early. But this race always comes with a handicapping conundrum. How do you...

I grew up in the 'Golden Age' of Canadian racing and breeding. Windfields, Sam Son and Stafford Farms are a few great breeders that come to mind. Thriving yearling sales and horses like Deputy Minister, Kennedy Road and Kamar also come to mind. Founded by the great E.P. Taylor, the consistent goal was a thriving industry with stewards of the turf to elevate Woodbine to the highest standards of thoroughbred racing. Secretariat made his final start at Woodbine and the most influential sire of my lifetime, Northern Dancer, was born...

On Tuesday, the consortium that operates Fort Erie racetrack filed a grievance with the Canadian Trade Commission over alleged strongarm business tactics by Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) that Fort Erie contends are designed to "starve Fort Erie of its necessary horse supply." Two days later, David Anderson, a prominent Ontario-based breeder who owns Anderson Farms and serves on the boards of three key Thoroughbred organizations in Canada, told TDN that Woodbine's tactics are, in his opinion, a coordinated effort to hamper Fort Erie's operations, and that some of those detrimental...

Woodbine Entertainment has released the nominations for the 2023 OLG Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, consisting of The King's Plate, the Prince of Wales and the Breeders' S. Totaling 124 3-year-olds foaled in Canada, the list of nominees includes star performers from last season, winners south of the border over the winter and many preparing for the upcoming Woodbine meet. Contested over three different surfaces at two courses, the Canadian Triple Crown will kick off Sunday, Aug. 20 at Woodbine with the 164th running of The King's Plate followed...

Ontario's two Thoroughbred tracks are sparring. The Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium (FELRC) announced Tuesday it has filed a grievance with the Canadian Trade Commission over an alleged "impasse in their attempts to resolve ongoing issues" with Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG), which runs Woodbine Racetrack. "For the past several race seasons, Woodbine has implemented a horse shipping policy which, in the opinion of the FELRC's board of directors, is designed to starve Fort Erie of its necessary horse supply by restricting the movement of horses between the two tracks," stated...

The unbeaten 2-year-old Iowa-bred gelding Tyler's Tribe (Sharp Azteca), who has never been headed while winning five dirt races by a combined 59 3/4 lengths, will have considerable rooting interest on Friday in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. But he's no longer the only five-for-five juvenile in North America after a win Saturday by the filly Back to Ohio (Midshipman), who cruised to a 7 1/4-length romp against Ohio-bred stakes company at Mahoning Valley. It's not unusual for 2-year-olds to rack up wins if they compete largely against...

Another record was set Saturday at Kentucky Downs when $21,065,982 was wagered on the 12-race card. Perhaps even more impressively, Kentucky Downs out-handled Del Mar, where $19,423,928 was bet. Del Mar ran 11 races on Saturday. That a wagering record was set was hardly a surprise considering that the card at Kentucky Downs was also the best ever offered at the sport's most unique racetrack. There were six graded stakes on the card and five of them were worth $1 million. The average field size was 11, the type of...