‘Breaking New Ground’: Woodbine Releases Corporate Responsibility Report

Woodbine Entertainment (Woodbine) proudly released its 2019/20 Corporate Responsibility Report on Tuesday. The report summarizes the company's recent achievements during the April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020 fiscal year. While the report focuses on this period, it also includes information on how Woodbine's operations were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Titled Breaking New Ground, the 2019/20 Woodbine Corporate Responsibility Report focuses on the company's commitment to the communities in which it operates, philanthropy, industry leadership, property development and sustaining the horse racing industry.

“While this year has been extremely difficult for so many, including those in horse racing, we have been highly focused on strengthening our foundation to prepare us for a future of prosperity across the industry,” said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. “Through this preparation, and despite the ongoing uncertainty caused by the global pandemic, we are optimistic about our future based on the quality of our racing, strength of our brand and efficient management of our operation.”

The report highlights contributions to three broad areas that encapsulate Woodbine's charitable initiatives including Supporting Community Health, For the Love of Horses, and Our Footprint. Additionally, the report provides an update on the status of key endeavours such as industry leadership, optimal land development, world-class racing, people and culture, and more.

COVID-19 Response Highlights:

  • Backstretch remained open as an essential service to provide stabling and care for upwards of 1,700 horses.
  • Frequent communications with Standardbred and Thoroughbred stakeholders via new weekly updates.
  • Developed “Woodbine's Guide to Working and Racing Safely” that documents policies and procedures created to operate and race in the safest way possible.
  • Responsive and comprehensive planning contributed to being the first professional sport in Canada allowed to return to competition since pandemic closures.
  • Rigorous health and safety protocols saw screening of 500-1,000 essential workers per day on site.
  • Pivoted to safely hosting spectator-free premier races, including The Queen's Plate, Pepsi North America Cup, Ricoh Woodbine Mile and Mohawk Million.

Charitable highlights within the 2019/20 Corporate Responsibility Report include:

  • Supported more than 100 community-based organizations and charitable causes.
  • Created the Breeders' Crown Charity Challenge which had a record one-time donation of $282,996.00 to five local charities including $109,484.00 won by the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society.
  • Hosted six 50/50 draws at Woodbine Racetrack and Woodbine Mohawk Park raising more than $27,500.00 for five different charities.
  • Received the Osler Award for Philanthropic Leadership for being a long-term supporter of the Etobicoke General Hospital.
  • Hosted (2019) for the third time, the Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer event that saw more than 1,900 participants raise a record-breaking $3.1 million for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.
  • Addressed food insecurity through the production and distribution of hundreds of pounds of food from the Woodbine Cares Community Garden to local community organizations.
  • Honoured to receive naming rights of the emegency waiting rooms at Etobicoke General Hospital and Milton District Hospital as acknowledgement of Woodbine's long-term and sustained financial support of both medical centres.

Business highlights within the 2019/20 Corporate Responsibility Report include:

  • Hosted three industry summits called “Stronger Together” to increase communication to industry stakeholders in order to educate them on the workings of the industry, our operations and policies and generally introduce a new level of transparency.
  • Invested in our industry through opening a new seven-furlong Kentucky Bluegrass inner turf course and new Standardbred paddock.
  • Commenced the first phase of land development at Woodbine Racetrack including a planned Metrolinx train station and municipal infrastructure necessary for the development of a world-class casino resort.
  • The economic impact of horse racing continues to be significant with the industry contributing more than $2.3 billion annually to Ontario's gross domestic product. Additionally, the horse racing industry employees more than 60,000 people or 45,433 full-time equivalent jobs.

“Every year, we work to build relationships,” said Zenia Wadhwani, Woodbine's Director, Community Relations and Corporate Affairs. “To be a good neighbour and give with the intent of making an impact in the lives of individuals, families and communities. To bring our employees together and foster the value of caring for each other and those around us. To make decisions that will be good for the environment and to be a better corporate citizen. Each year, we aim to improve upon what we have accomplished the previous year. This report is a glimpse into how we do that.”

As a responsible corporate citizen, Woodbine Entertainment has produced a Corporate Responsibility Report every year since 2006. The 2019/20 report is publicly accessible and is available for download or online viewing at WoodbineCares.ca.

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Canadian Triple Crown Contender: Breeders’ Stakes Draw To Be Streamed Live On Oct. 21

The post position draw for the 129th running of the $400,000 Breeders' Stakes, third and final jewel of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown, will be streamed live online next Wednesday, Oct. 21 at Woodbine Racetrack.

The post draw show will be hosted by racing analyst Jason Portuondo live from Woodbine Racetrack's broadcast studio and paddock at 12 noon, with an appearance by Jim Lawson, President and CEO of Woodbine Entertainment.

The connections of Mighty Heart will join the show to discuss the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales Stakes winner's pursuit of making Canadian sports history with a sweep of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown.

The show will also feature Michael Keogh, the 2020 Hall of Fame inductee who campaigned the last Triple Crown winner, Wando, during his 2003 series sweep, and jockey Patrick Husbands.

Live streaming will be available on Woodbine's website at Woodbine.com and Facebook page.

The Breeders' Stakes, featuring Canada's finest 3-year-old Thoroughbreds, will be contested over 1-1/2 miles on Woodbine's E.P. Taylor Turf Course on Saturday, Oct. 24.

Entries are due 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Here is a look at probable starters for the Breeders' Stakes:

Horse – Trainer – Owner

Belichick – Josie Carroll – NK Racing and LNJ Foxwoods

Clayton – Kevin Attard – Donato Lanni and Daniel Plouffe

Deviant – Mark Casse – Red Lane Thoroughbreds LLC

Enchant Me – Santino Di Paola – York Tech Racing Stable

*English Conqueror – Darwin Banach – JWS Farms

Glorious Tribute – Barbara Minshall – Bruce Lunsford

Kunal – Steven Chircop – Vincente Stella Stables LLC

Meyer – Martin Drexler – Bruno Schickedanz

Mighty Heart – Josie Carroll – Lawrence Cordes

Muskoka Giant – Mark Casse – Conrad Farms

Olliemyboy – Sid Attard – JMJ Racing Stables LLC

*Told It All – Norm McKnight – Rainbow Stables

*Possible supplements

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Woodbine’s Lawson Honors Legacy Of Late Trainer Janet Bedford

It might not have been a popular choice, or even a consideration for most at the time, but Mel Lawson knew it would be a perfect fit.

As a horseman with a well-earned and well-deserved reputation as one of Canada's most successful owner-breeders, the man with a stable chock full of Thoroughbred stars had a decision to make back in the early to mid 1980s, one that would be a game changer for his Jim Dandy Stable.

There was no shortage of trainers that Lawson could opt for – seasoned veterans of the sport, up-and-coming talents, diamond-in-the rough sorts – to lead his string of horses.

The man who had led the Hamilton Wildcats to Grey Cup gridiron glory in 1943 didn't have to call an audible when he named Janet Bedford to campaign his stable.

For Jim Lawson, Mel's son, and CEO of Woodbine Entertainment Group, the decision, in retrospect, was audacious, but undoubtedly the right one to make.

“It's interesting now when I look back and think about it… maybe it's in light of what has happened in recent months in the media regarding the focus on diversity. Hats off to my dad when I think of the times 40 years ago when he decided he wanted a woman trainer in a backstretch that was completely dominated by men. Janet had worked for [Canadian Hall of Fame trainer] Ted Mann, and I think my dad just felt she knew the horses, and he had confidence in her.”

It's one of many memories he has of Bedford, who recently passed away.

“Now that I think of it, 40 years later, it was probably a bold move. I didn't think of it that way at the time. I'm not sure whether he did, but looking back to those days, I think he saw her as very capable, trustworthy around the horses, and certainly knew them well. It was a natural thing for him to do. I don't think many of the owners at the time with good horses – and he had good horses – would have done that. I don't know. It's very interesting to look back on that now. I now look back and say, 'Wow… that was a good thing.' She definitely deserved it.”

The elder Lawson, inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2010, saw Bedford as an ideal orchestrator for horses like Let's Go Blue and Eternal Search, a dynamic Jim Dandy duo that had stamped themselves as bona fide talents.

Let's Go Blue, a son of Bob's Dusty who won the 1984 Plate Trial and finished second in the Queen's Plate that same year, went on to win Alberta's Canadian Derby and Hastings Racecourse's Grade 3 BC Derby. As a four-year-old, he took the Grade 3 Dominion Day and the Speed to Spare at Northlands, a race he won again in 1986 along with the Fair Play Stakes. He was also third in the Stuyvesant (G2) at Aqueduct before he was retired with over $750,000 (US) in purse earnings.

Up until the 1984 Queen's Plate, there had only been two women trainers to saddle a horse in the iconic Canadian race; Estelle Giddings, widow of Henry Giddings, an eight-time Plate winner, briefly took over the reins of her husband's stable and had a starter in 1950, while Olive Armstrong sent out a starter three years later.

Eternal Search, Mel's brilliant three-time Sovereign Award winning mare of 15 stakes races, came to Bedford's barn in 1983 and went on to win the Nassau Stakes at Fort Erie. The Eternal Search Stakes is run annually at Woodbine.

“We had a chance to travel with Let's Go Blue a few times and Eternal Search as well,” Jim recalled. “That's when you could see how much Janet doted and how much she cared for her horses. I think she probably loved Eternal Search more than anything.”

Interestingly, it's not winner's circle trips that first come to mind for Jim when speaking of Bedford's training exploits.

“First and foremost, it was her love for the animal, a true love for horses, that stands out for me. That is the thing that first comes to mind in my memory of her. When she'd go away with the horses, she'd pretty much want to sleep right beside them. She was just so passionate in caring for her horses. I think somehow there's an intangible there. When someone cares about their horses – rubs them like that, walks them like that – you know they are under the best of care. At some level, I think that's important to a horse, that they know they are so cared for.”

The end results for the multiple stakes winning trainer were 193 career wins and $4.6 million in purse earnings.

Beyond those numbers, however, is a far more significant stamp Bedford has left on Thoroughbred racing, especially at Woodbine Racetrack.

It's something Jim, and many others, are appreciative of.

“We have a very disproportionate number of very capable, very successful women trainers at Woodbine compared to other racetracks around the world. There are so many names at Woodbine, so I won't try to list them all. I think in order for that to happen, there needed to be a pathway. There are a lot of women that work in the Woodbine backstretch, and to have someone who would pave the way like that, and say, 'You can do it,' is a credit to Janet. I think, in part, she has helped Woodbine foster so many great women trainers. It's a very nice thing for our industry, and a very nice thing to acknowledge Janet for having some of the credit for that.”

Catherine Day Phillips, Josie Carroll, Barbara Minshall and Gail Cox are some of the numerous Woodbine-based female conditioners who have experienced success at home and on the world stage over the past 30-plus years.

A multiple graded stakes winner, Day Phillips, whose stars include Grade 1 champion Jambalaya, and graded stakes victors A Bit O'Gold, and Mr Havercamp, is thankful for Bedford and the others who helped open the gates for women trainers.

“My first thought of Janet is her association with Let's Go Blue,” said Day Phillips, whose mother Dinny Day was also a successful trainer. “She was one of the first female trainers I remember, and she was a pioneer in that way. She helped pave the way for female trainers, especially for those of us at Woodbine.”

Around four or five years ago, while he was cleaning his parents' house, Jim came across a piece of nostalgia from the halcyon days of Jim Dandy Stable.

The moment he stumbled upon it, he thought of Bedford.

“I hadn't seen Janet in a while. It was probably four or five years ago, when I was cleaning out my parents' house, and I found an old Jim Dandy Stable jacket. Janet was walking hots for Sid [trainer, Attard] and I took that jacket – which looked pretty much brand new – to her. It was in my dad's closet and it had never been cleaned out. He died in 2011, so this was around 2015 or 2016. I took it to Janet and she nearly burst into tears. It was indicative of how much that era of training meant to her.”

And just as she was in her role as Mel Lawson's trainer, the jacket was a perfect fit.

“She proved herself, loved the horses and took care of them,” said Jim. “I think that's what my dad saw in her.”

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TSN, Woodbine Bringing Back ‘Racing Night Live’ This Fall

TSN and Woodbine Entertainment announced Friday that the exciting live horse racing series RACING NIGHT LIVE returns to Canada's Sports Leader this fall. Moving to the network's marquee Friday night timeslot, RACING NIGHT LIVE kicks off Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. ET on TSN, featuring even more live races each week.

A complete schedule of TSN's RACING NIGHT LIVE coverage is available at TSN.ca (schedule subject to change).

The two-hour weekly show will now feature at least three Thoroughbred races (depending on the number of races on the card) from Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, and four Standardbred races (up from three) from Woodbine Mohawk Park in Milton, Ontario.

Viewers across Canada have been joining in on RACING NIGHT LIVE action and wagering on live races through Woodbine's new easy-to-use horse racing app Dark Horse. Broadcasts have also featured a slate of performances from top Canadian musical artists.

“Racing Night Live has been such a tremendous opportunity for horse racing to connect with a new audience in a dynamic way,” said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment.  “We are thrilled to partner with TSN to bring Racing Night Live back in an even bigger way.”

Weekly editions of RACING NIGHT LIVE are produced through a partnership between Woodbine Entertainment, TSN, and Dome Productions. The show is hosted by TSN's Laura Diakun and Woodbine Entertainment's Jason Portuondo, with Brodie Lawson and Chad Rozema contributing reports from track level.

RACING NIGHT LIVE complements TSN's live broadcast coverage of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown. The Queen's Plate champion Mighty Heart won the Prince of Wales Stakes last week and now holds the first two jewels of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown. Should Mighty Heart win the Breeders' Stakes, airing on Saturday, October 24 live on TSN, he would become the first OLG Canadian Triple Crown winner since Wando won it in 2003.

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