Month: March 2023

Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course announced Tuesday that the $400,000, Grade 2, Penn Mile will be contested on Friday, June 2, 2023.

Now in its tenth running, the one-mile event for 3-year-olds on the turf will headline an exceptional evening of racing which will also include the $150,000 Penn Oaks, $100,000 Danzig Stakes, $100,000 New Start Stakes, $100,000 Lyphard Stakes, and $100,000 With Anticipation Stakes.

Inaugurated in 2013, the Penn Mile was granted Grade 3 status in 2015 and upgraded to a Grade 2 in 2017. Previous Penn Mile winners include Kenneth L. Ramsey's homebred Bobby's Kitten, who lived up to his post-time favoritism in 2014 for Chad Brown and jockey Javier Castellano and went on to win that year's Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. In 2016, the Canadian Champion filly Catch a Glimpse, trained by Mark Casse, won the Penn Mile prior to completing her career with earnings of $1.8 million. Last year's Penn Mile champion Wow What a Summer lit up the toteboard at odds of 83-1 for conditioner James Lawrence, II and runner-up Annapolis, trained by Hall of Fame conditioner Todd Pletcher, went on to win three stakes in 2022, including the Grade 1 Coolmore Turf at Keeneland.

The $150,000 Penn Oaks (listed) has also showcased many exemplary turf distaffers, including 2019 champion Regal Glory. The daughter of Animal Kingdom added nine stakes wins following her Penn Oaks victory and was honored with the 2022 Eclipse Award for Champion Turf Female.

“We are looking forward to hosting the Penn Mile, Penn Oaks and four additional $100,000 stakes for Pennsylvania-breds on June 2,” said Eric Johnston, Director of Racing Operation for Penn National. “The race continues to attract the nation's elite horses, trainers and jockeys to central Pennsylvania.”

Post time for the Penn Mile Day card will be 5:00 pm (ET). Nominations will close Wednesday, May 17, 2023.

PENN MILE DAY

Friday, June 2, 2023

$400,000 Penn Mile – Grade 2

Three Year Olds – One Mile (turf)

$150,000 Penn Oaks – Listed

Fillies, Three Years Old – One Mile (turf)

$100,000 Danzig Stakes

PA Bred, Three Year Olds – Six Furlongs

$100,000 New Start Stakes

PA Bred, Fillies, Three Years Old – Six Furlongs

$100,000 Lyphard Stakes

PA Bred, Fillies and Mares, Three Years Old & Upward – One Mile & One Sixteenth (turf)

$100,000 With Anticipation Stakes

PA Bred, Three Years Old & Upward – One Mile & One Sixteenth (turf)

The post Penn National Schedules 2023 Penn Mile For June 2 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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One of the most beloved and iconic races on the Woodbine Thoroughbred calendar has a date in the 2023 starting gate.

The news spread quickly on social media soon after Woodbine recently unveiled its lucrative stakes schedule for the upcoming season: the Grade 1 Canadian International has returned.

Not run in 2022 due to challenges from COVID-19, the International will take center stage at Canada's Showplace of Racing on Sunday, Oct. 8, at a new distance of a mile and a quarter on the world-renowned E.P. Taylor Turf Course.

The purse for this year's 84th running of the Canadian International will be $750,000.

“We were certainly focused on bringing back this world-renowned race,” said Tim Lawson, Director of Thoroughbred Racing, Woodbine. “We believe the distance change fits the current demands of our industry and the North American stakes calendar well. Having a mile and a quarter turf race in the fall will stand out and continue the legacy of this great race.”

A race whose winner's list includes some of the sport's greatest equine athletes. Secretariat (1973), Dahlia (1974), Snow Knight (1975), Youth (1976), Mac Diarmida (1978), All Along (1983), Singspiel (1996) and Chief Bearhart (1997) have all laid claim to victory in the turf classic.

Other winners include three-time victor Joshua Tree (IRE) (2010, 2012-13), Desert Encounter (IRE) (2018-19), and Bunty Lawless (1941). In 2021, Walton Street (GB) strode to an impressive 5 ¾-length score as the 4-5 choice.

The Canadian International has undergone modifications several times since its inaugural running in 1938. Originally contested at a mile and sixteenth on dirt, the International moved to turf in 1958 and has been held at multiple distances. The International had been run at a mile and a half since 1987.

It has no doubt been an international affair over its 80-plus year history, attracting celebrated horse people from across the world.

Frankie Dettori has ridden the most winners at four (2000, 2004, 2012, 2021), while several trainers hold the record for most wins at three, including Sir Michael Stoute and Maurice Zilber.

The return of the Canadian International in 2023 will also mark the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's magical victory in the 1973 edition.

Making his final career start, Secretariat dazzled on a near-freezing October 28, 1973, by posting a stakes-record 6 ½-length victory in front of a thunderous crowd. The iconic Canadian sports memory is recognized by many to be the most memorable moment in Woodbine Racetrack's storied history.

“It's only fitting that we bring new life to the Canadian International during the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's victory,” said Lawson. “This race holds a special place in the heart of many at Woodbine and we're excited to see what the future has in store.”

The Canadian International will also be joined on Sunday, October 8, by the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes for fillies and mares on the turf. The $600,000 race is recognized as one of the sport's premier turf events for fillies and mares.

The post Woodbine: Grade 1 Canadian International Returns At New Distance appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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