Fourth to the King's Plate S. winner in each of his last two starts, the dark bay gelding was able to turn the tables while drawn two gates to the outside of the 5/2 favorite. Outsprinted to the lead by Paramount Prince, Velocitor was able to tuck into a cozy spot just behind the pacesetter and enjoyed a ground-saving trip through a quick :22.80 opening quarter. Joined outside by Ottawa (Violence) up the backstretch, the 7-1 shot threaded between horses to begin his bid into the far turn. Paramount Prince, no doubt growing leg weary as the half went in :45.99, was game along the rail and top two turned for home together. Head and head into the final furlong, it was Velocitor who had something left to just edge by his rival close to home. Kaukokaipuu (Mr Speaker) had plenty of run left despite hanging on his left lead and got up in time to nail Paramount Prince on the line for the exacta slot.

Pedigree Note:

Polar Plunge, herself a multiple stakes winning mare, is a full-sister to fellow MSW Wind Chill Factor. She is also a half to GIII Whimsical S. winner Shakopee Town (Jersey Town). Velocitor hails from the first crop of Mor Spirit (by Eskendereya) and became his sire's first stakes winner last fall with a victory in Woodbine's restricted Coronation Futurity. His dam produced an unraced 2-year-old full-sister and reported a colt by Rock Your World this spring before returning to that Spendthrift stallion for 2024.

Tuesday, Fort Erie
PRINCE OF WALES S., C$400,000, Fort Erie, 9-12, (C), 3yo, 1 3/16m, 1:55.24, sy.
1–VELOCITOR, 126, g, 3, by Mor Spirit
                1st Dam: Polar Plunge (MSW, $287,174),
                                by Successful Appeal
                2nd Dam: Shakopee, by Evansville Slew
                3rd Dam: La Kestrel, by Robin des Pins
O/B-Al & Bill Ulwelling (ON); T-Kevin Attard; J-Justin Stein.
C$240,000. Lifetime Record: 10-4-1-1, $445,761.
2–Kaukokaipuu, 126, c, 3, Mr Speaker–Grey Pride, by Mizzen
Mast. ($10,000 Ylg '21 FTKOCT). O-Culpepper Island Syndicate;
B-Sean Fitzhenry (ON); T-Tedston Holder. C$80,000.
3–Paramount Prince, 126, g, 3, Society's Chairman–Platinum
Steel, by Eddington. (C$21,000 Ylg '21 CANSEP). O-Michael J.
Langlois and Gary Barber; B-Ericka Nadine Rusnak (ON);
T-Mark E. Casse. C$40,000.
Margins: 1, NK, 2. Odds: 7.85, 7.75, 2.70.
Also Ran: Cool Kiss, Tiburon, Twin City, Stanley House, Trinity Park, Stayhonor Goodside, Morstachy's, Ottawa. Scratched: Armaline. Click for the Equibase.com chart.

VELOCITOR and Justin Stein win the 88th running of The Prince of Wales Stakes.

The second jewel of the @OLG_CA Canadian Triple Crown pic.twitter.com/uO8MtjxS1t

— Woodbine Racetrack (@WoodbineTB) September 12, 2023

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But this race always comes with a handicapping conundrum. How do you pick the winner in a dirt race when not one of the 11 starters has ever won a race over that surface? Most have done their running at Woodbine over the turf courses or the synthetic Tapeta track.

“That's what makes the Canadian Triple Crown so unique,” said Paramount Prince's trainer, Mark Casse. “The first race is on Tapeta, the second is on the dirt and they finish up on the grass in the Breeders' Stakes. We had him all winter at our training center in Ocala and he trained extremely well over the dirt there. I'd be kind of shocked if he didn't handle the dirt. But you never know.”

According to the figures provided by Thoro-Graph, the offspring of Society's Chairman win 16% on the time on dirt and just 13% of the time on synthetic.

Casse has won the Queen's Plate/King's Plate three times, the Prince of Wales four times and the Breeders' Stakes twice. But he has yet to sweep a Canadian Triple Crown, something no horse has done since Wando (Langfuhr) in 2003. The series took a bit of a hit the last two years when the winners of the Queen's Plate skipped the Prince Of Wales. But it looks like the Prince of Wales has rebounded. The 12-horse field is the biggest in 21 years and most of the top Canadian-bred 3-year-old males will be in the race.

Looking to win the Prince of Wales for the fifth time, Casse has every reason to be confident. Paramount Prince, who will be ridden by Patrick Husbands, looks like an improving horse who flourished once sent around two turns. After three straight losses sprinting, he wired the field in the Plate Trial before doing the same in the King's Plate.

“Early on I was very disappointed in him,” Casse said. “This winter I kept saying this is a good horse. The first time I ran him I told (owner) Gary (Barber) that I didn't think he'd get beat. But he disappointed me. He trained great coming into his second race and didn't win either. I think he wants to you to grab him and get into a rhythm. He doesn't do that sprinting.”

Casse has also entered Stayhonor Goodside (Honor Code), who is 10-1 in the morning line and was kept out of the King's Plate.

“I kind of pointed that horse to this race because I thought he has a good dirt pedigree,” Casse said. “But we're all guessing.”

Trainer Michael DePaulo will send out a pair in 4-1 second choice Stanley House (Army Mule) and Cook Kiss (Kantharos). Cook Kiss is one of only two horses in the field that has started on the dirt. He finished second in a dirt allowance in July at Gulfstream. Stanley House was third in the King's Plate, beaten three lengths, and never threatened the winner. Both horses will wear blinkers for the first time.

“We're hoping somebody goes after Paramount Prince at some point. But you never know,” DePaulo said. “Patrick is a cagey rider and might not go to the lead. The Society's Chairmans in general haven't been real big dirt horses that I've seen. But you never know. I put the blinkers on Stanley because he's been a little further than I'd like in most of his races. The other horse, Cook Kiss, he sometimes looks like he's goofing around. I thought blinkers might help. You look at his Ragozin numbers and they're way better than his Beyer numbers because he's always so wide. He ran a mile and three eighths in the Plate.”

Kaukokaipuu (Mr Speaker) went off at 8-1 in the King's Plate only to lose by 37 1/4 lengths. Trainer Ted Holder is willing to try again.

“We haven't missed a beat,” Holder said. “We unfortunately got outdistanced so we ended up on the Alcohol and Gaming Commission's outdistanced vet's list. So, I worked with him, a very slow maintenance work for him to get him off the list. We went over him with the vets to make sure everything was in order and we got the green light, so we are proceeding.”

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Being run for the 164th time, making it North America's oldest continually run race, the 1 1/4-mile test will be contested as the King's Plate for the first time since 1951.

Favored in the morning line at 3-1 is the Chad Brown-trained Kalik, owned by Robert LaPenta, e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Madaket Stables LLC. The partnership also campaigns Moon Landing (Nyquist), who drew post 17 for trainer Kevin Attard and is 20-1 on the morning line.

Kalik is a winner of three of six starts-all on the turf–highlighted by the June 3 GII Pennine Ridge S. at Belmont. The chestnut finished eighth in his latest start in the GI Belmont Derby July 8.

“With Chad, you know the horse will be in top condition coming into the Plate,” said jockey Kazushi Kimura, slated to ride the $200,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase. “To be in The King's Plate is amazing. The race has so much history. You can feel the excitement building and I hope that we can say we won the first King's Plate since 1951. I know I have a big chance with this horse.”

Drawing the rail, Stanley House (Army Mule) broke his maiden at Gulfstream in March before finishing runner-up going 8 1/2 furlongs over Woodbine's Tapeta surface in May. Back in the winner's circle facing optional claimers, he finished sixth in the July 23 Plate Trial, won by Paramount Prince (Society's Chairman). The former, installed the 4-1 second choice on the morning line, will be ridden by Hall of Famer Javier Castellano.

In addition to Paramount Prince (10-1, post 13), trainer Mark Casse will also be represented by Elysian Field (8-1, post 2). Patrick Husbands will partner the former, while Sahin Civaci will be aboard the filly.

“Coming into a race like this, some horses are thriving and getting better, and that would describe her,” said Casse, who won the 2014 Plate with Lexie Lou and the 2018 running with Wonder Gadot.

Sunday's card also features a trio of stakes: the 1 1/16-mile GII Dance Smartly S. (on the E.P. Taylor turf for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up); the Catch a Glimpse S. (fillies) and Soaring Free S. (colts). Both juvenile races will be contested on the E.P. Taylor turf over 6 1/2 furlongs.

First post for Sunday is 12:25 p.m. (ET), with the featured King's Plate scheduled as Race 10 (5:39 p.m. ET). The national Plate broadcast will be televised on TSN and CTV starting at 4:30 p.m.

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The list of contenders for the 68th Woodbine Oaks has also been released, totaling 63 Canadian-bred fillies, with last year's racing yielding eventual Canadian Horse of the Year Moira (ON) (Ghostzapper). The 2023 edition will run Sunday, July 23. The full nominee list for that race can be found here.

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The program will offer more than $17 million in purses, including 39 graded stakes, five Grade I events and two $1 million classics, The King's Plate and Ricoh Woodbine Mile.

“Highlighted by the return of the Canadian International, and the first running of The King's Plate in 70 years, this year's stakes program at Woodbine will be as exciting as ever,” said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment.

The 164th running of The King's Plate is schedule for Sunday, August 20 to launch the OLG Canadian Triple Crown. The $400,000 Prince of Wales will be run Tuesday, September 12 at Fort Erie Race Track, while the $400,000 Breeders' S. will be contested Sunday, October 1.

The GI Ricoh Woodbine Mile is accompanied by the $500,000 GI Johnnie Walker Natalma S. and $500,000 GI Summer S. Saturday, September 16. The trio of Grade I events are all part of the Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge Series.

The biggest addition to the 2023 stakes schedule is the return of the Grade I Canadian International. The race will have its 84th running Sunday, October 8 at a new distance of a mile and a quarter over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course. The GI E.P. Taylor will also be contested on October 8.

The $500,000 Woodbine Oaks Presented by Budweiser will launch the Canadian Triple Tiara Sunday, July 23. To view the entire 2023 Thoroughbred stakes schedule, click here.

The 2023 season at Woodbine Racetrack opens Saturday, April 22 and runs through Sunday, December 10.

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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 number horseplayers love.

Kentucky Downs is improving every year, but there is a way to make to make it even better. Largely because of the width of the turf course, fields are limited to 12 horses. In many races, there are 16 horses entered in a race, with four on the also-eligible list. For most tracks, limiting the number of starters to 12  wouldn't be an issue. But, according to Kentucky Downs Senior Vice President and General Manager Ted Nicholson, it's not uncommon for as many as 30 horses to enter a race, particularly in maiden races.

If Kentucky Downs does as well as it does limiting the fields to 12 horses, imagine how much more they could handle if allowing 16 horses to race. And why limit things to 16 horses? What's wrong with a 20-horse field, a 22-horse field?

Nicholson said track management is exploring its options relating to field size. It would take widening the course, particularly on the turns.

“Increasing the amount of horses that can run is something that we have talked about, but talks haven't gone that far,” he said. “We've been content with having 16 possibles and scratching down to 12. This is one of those things we probably should consider even more for next year.”

Nicholson added that the track decided to card more maiden races, which almost always have oversubscribed fields, this year. There were four on Saturday's card. It was done so that horsemen with maidens would have a better chance of getting into races rather than being shut out for the entire meet because it has been so difficult to get into those races.

“I'd much rather run a maiden race with 12 than throw up a claiming race that might scratch down to seven or eight,” Nicholson said.

Saratoga Is Growing But Is The Sport?

It was announced last week that the Saratoga meet set still another wagering record with $878,211,963 bet on the meet, a 7.7% increase over what was a record handle in 2021. If the trends continue, we may be only three or four years removed from the meet breaking the $1-billion mark, an astounding number.

But while this is good news for Saratoga and NYRA, the numbers suggest that the handle increases are not a matter of the pie growing but Saratoga taking a bigger slice of the pie. According to Equibase, through August, total handle is up just 0.24% on the year. In August, which includes the bulk of the Saratoga season, wagering was down 0.86%.

It's not just Saratoga. The numbers coming out of the top-tier tracks, particularly the boutique meets, continue to be good. That probably means that customers continue to turn away from the second and third-tier tracks and are focusing their wagering dollars on the very best simulcasting signals.

Problems for the Canadian Triple Crown

For the second year in a row, the winner of the Queen's Plate will not be running in the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. When entries were taken last week for Tuesday's Prince of Wales S. at Fort Erie, the field,  as expected, did not include Queen's Plate winner Moira (Ghostzapper). She is being pointed for a Grade I race and trainer Kevin Attard said he is looking at either the GI E.P. Taylor S. at Woodbine or the GI Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup S. at Keeneland. Attard wants to give her a chance in Grade I company to enhance her resume. You can hardly blame him.

The 2021 Plate winner Safe Conduct (Bodemeister) skipped the Prince of Wales because the connections thought me might have a hard time making the transition from Woodbine's Tapeta surface to the Fort Erie dirt track.

Also sitting out the $400,000 Prince of Wales will be Queen's Plate runner-up Hall of Dreams (Lemon Drop Kid) and Queen's Plate beaten favorite Rondure (Oxbow).  The 7-5 morning-line favorite in the race is Sir for Sure (Sligo Bay {Ire}), who was third, beaten nine lengths, in the Queen's Plate.

With the race being run three weeks after the Queen's Plate and offering a purse that is modest by today's standards, the Prince of Wales has become a weak link in the Canadian Triple Crown, which also includes the Breeders' S. at Woodbine. As is this case with the U.S. Triple Crown, there is talk that the series needs to be tinkered with. One thought is to bring back a bonus structure for any horse sweeping the three races, something the Ontario tracks have done off and on over the years. Throwing some money at the problem is one possible solution.

As for the Queen's Plate, it appears that is about to undergo a name change with the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Since its inception way back in 1860, the race has been named for the reigning British monarch and has been called the Queen's Plate since 1952. As long as Woodbine sticks to tradition, the race will be renamed the King's Plate in honor of King Charles III.

New Voices in NYRA Announcer's Booth

It was announced last week that Frank Mirahmadi will take over as the announcer at Saratoga next year. It was one of a number of changes when it comes to the NYRA race-callers. John Imbriale has decided to cut back on his duties and will call the races at Belmont only. Chris Griffin, currently the announcer at Parx, will take over the duties at Aqueduct.

Mirahmadi will split his time between two of the top tracks in the sport, Saratoga and Santa Anita. Considering those assignments, his popularity and the quality of his calls, it's easy to argue that Mirahmadi deserves to be recognized as the very best in his profession.

Mirahmadi will be leaving Monmouth at the end of the current meet. If he's amenable to the idea, isn't bringing Larry Collmus back to Monmouth an obvious move?

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“Typically, when you win the Oaks, depending on how impressive they are doing it, you always have to think of The Queen's Plate,” said trainer Kevin Attard, who is looking for his first Plate win. “It's something we have always had in the back of our minds, and we geared her campaign so the Plate would be her third race of the season and she'd be fresh.”

The double-draw format was in place for the session, with the order of selection first established beforee allowing the connections to choose their post positions.

Likely to draw plenty of support Sunday, Borders Racing Stable Ltd.'s Rondure (Oxbow) was allotted post 6. Trained by Katerina Vassilieva, the GIII Marine S. winner will be accompanied by Flavien Prat.

“He's not overly large in stature, but he's stout,” said Vassilieva. “He has a stout, muscular body and a big heart. He loves to sleep. Every day, around 10:30 or 11, he eats his breakfast and then goes to sleep. You will find him around that time, every day, sprawled out in his stall. Which is always a good sign to me, that he knows how to rest and relax.”

No stranger to the Queen's Plate, trainer Mark Casse, who won the Plate with Lexie Lou (2014) and Wonder Gadot (2018), will be represented by Heste Sport Inc.'s Sir for Sure (Sligo Bay {Ire}), who will break from post 10 as well as Gary Barber, Wachtel Stables, Peter Deutsch, and Leonard Schleifer's Hall of Dreams (Lemon Drop Kid), who breaks from the rail. The stablemates finished 1-2 in the Plate Trial July 24.

“The Plate Trial was actually my second choice,” said the dual Hall of Fame conditioner of the likely more fancied of the two Casse runners come raceday. “Two days before the Plate Trial, there was an Ontario-sired allowance going a mile and a quarter, and I was trying to find the easiest path to The Queen's Plate because he's a little behind from the injury. But the race didn't go. [Owner] René [Hunderup] was good with running him in the Plate Trial, so we did. I didn't need him to win, I just needed him to show he still wanted to play the game. I thought it was powerful and he got a great ride from [jockey] Declan [Carroll].”

Always a dominant force south of the border, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will try to add a second Plate victory with Chiefwood Stables' Causin' Mayhem (Into Mischief), who broke his maiden at Belmont before finishing third last out in the Plate Trial. Pletcher previously won with Archers Bay in 1998.

Rounding out the field are Shamateur (Shaman Ghost) (8-1, Post 2); Ironstone (Mr Speaker) (12-1, Post 3); The Minkster (English Channel) (10-1, Post 4); Duke of Love (Cupid) (5-1 Post 5); Dancin in Da'nile (Pioneerof the Nile) (30-1, Post 7) and Hunt Master (Hunters Bay) (30-1, Post 9).

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The total number of nominees is down from last year's high of 125, but up from only 92 in 2020.

Among the top nominees to the series are: Messier (Empire Maker), Ironstone (Mr Speaker), God of Love (Cupid), The Minkster (English Channel), and Silent Runner (Silent Name {Jpn}).

Nominations were also released for the 67th running of the Woodbine Oaks, presented by Budweiser. Sixty-five Canadian-bred fillies have been nominated for the Oaks, which will be run July 24.

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“One thing I really learned was just how important a rider was for that particular (Queen's Plate),” Serpe said of the Aug. 22 race that Safe Conduct won by a head over Riptide Rock on the Tapeta track to claim the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.

“Irad Ortiz was pivotal in getting that horse out of the one-hole… He's a big brute of a horse and if you watch the first 100 yards of that race, to me, that's where the race was won because he got that horse out of there and in position without having to use him.

“Taking that into consideration, we have a rider change to Emma-Jayne Wilson (for the Breeders' Stakes). She was going to ride him last year for us as a 2-year-old. The ball was actually in her court to ride him in the Queen's Plate. The horse had gotten sick and had a couple of bad starts… so I don't blame her for (choosing to ride Tidal Forces). In fact, she was one of the first people to text me after the horse won to congratulate me.

“We feel confident with her because the whole scenario changes. What we want now is just a nice, calm ride. She knows the turf course up there, it's her ballpark, so we're very happy to have her… I feel like he'll get the distance if he gets the right ride.”

Serpe's biggest concern is weather. Should it rain, it likely won't be Safe Conduct's game. The son of Bodemeister out of the Congrats mare Duchess Dancer wasn't a fan of soft going in his pre-Plate July 10 start in the Belmont Derby in which he finished 8th.

“The turf it had taken a lot of rain and he was just not getting through it,” Serpe said. “But we can't do anything about the weather… I actually think that grass is probably going to be his best surface, so I'm more confident about this surface than (the Tapeta).”

Serpe said Safe Conduct came out of the Queen's Plate in fine form and was back at his base in New York the next day.

“He is a big, strong horse and so he took that well. We just gave him a little breather, then brought him back down to Belmont. He had a terrific work the other day. We just blew him out a little bit (Tuesday, Sept. 28). We let him go about a half on the main track here in about :51. Really, just kind of let him go down the lane and gallop out strong. I think he went the last three-eighths in :38.2 and the last quarter in :24-and-change or something like that. He was stepping it up,” Serpe said.

The decision to skip the Prince of Wales — the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown — was a tactical one, Serpe said.

“We would love, love, love to win the Canadian Triple Crown, but we weighed it out and we thought that we would rather have a fresh horse to run a mile-and-a-half, than to take a chance running him on the dirt and then he goes backwards and we're not even coming,” Serpe said. “The Triple Crown in Canada is on three surfaces and, to me, that's a lot harder, or can be a lot harder, than running at three different distances — and, of course, you are at three different distances anyway.”

Serpe said it was an honour to win the Queen's Plate, even though neither he nor the owner — WellSpring Stables' Dr. Robert Vukovich of Colts Neck, NJ — made the trip to Woodbine due to COVID-19 restrictions and pandemic concerns.

“We didn't even know if we were going to make it or have personnel there, so we had three different plans intact as far as the horse was concerned. Fortunately, it all worked out well. I'm very sorry that I couldn't be there, because it's such a prestigious race, but we had to make sure we had people in the right spots in case something went backwards,” Serpe said, adding the fact Safe Conduct won without him there is the reason he won't be coming for the Breeders' Stakes.

“I'm going to stay here because I'm slightly superstitious,” he said, laughing. “If he runs a third time (at Woodbine), then I'll be there… My partner and assistant of 25 years, Lisa Bartowsky will be up again.”

However, this time, Vukovich is expected to be at Woodbine. It was Vukovich who picked out Safe Conduct — bred by Ontario's Mitchell Kursner — from the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale and bought him for $45,000. Thanks to the $600,000 (Cdn – $467,952 U.S.) payday in the $1 million Queen's Plate, Safe Conduct now sports earnings of $603,202 (U.S.).

“I'm especially happy for (Vukovich) because he is a really, really good owner and a really good person,” Serpe said.

As for Serpe, the Plate proved to be a Godsend.

“We've had three or four pretty large outfits (in New York) where the trainer has retired,” Serpe said. “The pandemic put a lot of strain on people, including ourselves. Our purse earnings were down in 2020 about $800,000 from the year before. So, this money has helped immensely. For whatever reason, also, we've been going through a dry, dry, dry spell. Like, drier than the first year I was training horses… So, good things happened at the right time for us and we are grateful for that. The money went to good use, my employees.

“No new cars or boats or anything. The stable is our main focus.”

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“Kevin said he might be the most talented 3-year-old he has, but he hadn't mentally put it together. Today, he showed he did,” said Boulanger, who captured his first Prince of Wales win.

In the battle down to the wire with Attard's other trainee, Harlan Estate, Boulanger was confident his mount could get the job done in the 1 3/16-mile race over Fort Erie's dirt course.

“He's a horse that's really come into himself,” said Boulanger after steering Haddassah to victory.

Eighth in the Queen's Plate, Haddassah's conditioner Attard was extremely pleased with Haddassah heading into the Prince of Wales.

“He's trained really well since and he really matured since the Queen's Plate; he's more relaxed in his training in the mornings,” said Attard. “We elected to take him off of Lasix for the Queen's Plate and he ran without the medication today as well just because I thought it was reacting negatively to him. He put it all together today.”

Haddassah returned $15.50 to his backers. Attard's two other contenders, Harlan Estate and H C Holiday finished second and fourth, respectively. Meanwhile, Tino Attard's trainee, Keep Grinding finished third.

An eventful day at Fort Erie, the program was filled with various stakes including the Rondeau Bay Stakes and the Lake Erie Stakes. Each race was part of the inaugural Ontario Sired Heritage Series, a new eight-leg stakes series open to Ontario-sired 3-year-olds, featured both at Woodbine and Fort Erie.

The Rondeau Bay Stakes went to Red Equinox with jockey Christopher Husbands. Trained by Jamie Attard for owner Norseman Racing Stable, the 3-year-old filly returned $7.80 to her backers.

After his first stakes win, trainer Jamie Attard, son of Hall of Fame trainer Sid Attard, said the victory was very special. “It's something you dream about all the time when you're growing up and thinking about getting into this business and learning from someone like my father.”

The Lake Erie Stakes was captured by Red River Rebel with jockey Rafael Hernandez for trainer Kevin Attard and owners Denny Andrews and Northern Dawn Stables, Inc., returning $5.10 to win.

The two cup races on the 11-race card included the Le Cinquieme Essai Cup as well as the Molson Cup.

Seau was first across the finish line in the Le Cinquieme Essai Cup. Jockey Sunny Singh picked up the mount for trainer John Simms and owner Deborah Fletcher.

“He was pretty cool the first time I sat on him a few weeks ago, and he just did everything on his own and did it all right,” said Sunny Singh from the winner's circle after the race. “He is just an awesome animal to be around, and John and his crew did a great job.”

The Molson Cup was scooped up by Feature Creature and rider Kazushi Kimura, giving owner Deborah Fletcher and trainer John Simms their second cup victory on the card.

It was a good day at the betting window with the handle hitting the $2 million mark.

There are 11 racing days left in the 2021 Fort Erie racing calendar. For more information, please visit forterieracing.com

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