Breeders Crown Returns To Woodbine’s Mohawk Park In 2022

The $6.7 million (USD) Breeders Crown, harness racing's richest and most prestigious year-end divisional championship series, returns in the last weekend of October 2022 to Woodbine Mohawk Park in Campbellville, Ontario, Canada.

Eliminations, if necessary, for freshman races will be held Friday, Oct. 21, with three-year-old and older eliminations raced Saturday, Oct. 22. Finals for two-year-olds get underway the next Friday, Oct. 28 with sophomore finals and open events following on Saturday, Oct. 29. All Breeders Crown divisions are now guaranteed at $600,000, with the exception of the Open Mare Pace and Trot which have been raised to a minimum of $350,000.

Woodbine Entertainment last hosted all 12 events in 2019, smashing handle and attendance records at the seven-eighths mile track, with $11.1M wagered over the four fall nights. The 2019 events were capped by a sensational victory in the Crown Trot by French star Bold Eagle, who retired with earnings of $5,878,322.

The 2019 Breeders Crown at Woodbine Mohawk Park also initiated the successful and subsequent three-year sponsorship of the Libfeld-Katz Breeding Partnership, which was also responsible for creating and executing the Breeders Crown Charity Challenge. The Breeders Crown Charity Challenge, brainchild of breeder/owner Marvin Katz, has since raised over $800,000 in three years, supporting numerous local charities in Crown host track communities.

Woodbine Entertainment has hosted more Breeders Crown events than any other venue at their tracks of Woodbine, Mohawk and Greenwood, for a total of 152.

“The Woodbine name is recognized as one of harness racing's leading brands and we are excited and proud to partner with them and bring the Breeders Crown series back to Canada,” said John Campbell, President & CEO of the Hambletonian Society, which owns and administers the races.

“Woodbine is thrilled to welcome back the Breeders Crown to Woodbine Mohawk Park this October,” said Jim Lawson, CEO of Woodbine Entertainment. “Hosting the Breeders Crown continues our commitment to a world-class racing product, and we're focused on once again producing an exceptional two-night event showcasing the very best in our sport.”

The Breeders Crown series has typically crowned champions in every division for trotters and pacers and been the deciding factor in Horse of the Year honors.  A Breeders Crown title is one of the most coveted honors in harness racing.

The Hambletonian Society is a non-profit organization formed in 1924 to sponsor the race for which it was named, the Hambletonian Stake. The Society's mission is to encourage and support the breeding of Standardbred horses through the development, administration and promotion of harness racing stakes, early-closing races and other special events.   For more information, visit www.hambletonian.com.

The post Breeders Crown Returns To Woodbine’s Mohawk Park In 2022 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Record Woodbine Mile Handle Paces Huge Weekend With Over $30 Million Wagered

A stakes-filled weekend across Woodbine Racetrack and Woodbine Mohawk Park generated a total of $30,391,567.55 in handle over five cards of Woodbine Entertainment live racing from Friday through Sunday.

The highlight of the weekend was a record-setting $13,856,030.71 handle on Saturday's Thoroughbred card at Woodbine Racetrack, which established a new record for a Ricoh Woodbine Mile card and was a 17.3 per cent increase over 2020.

Horseplayers wagered $2.2 million on the Ricoh Woodbine Mile race and $1.7 million on the Pattison Canadian International race. A quartet of multi-leg wager guarantees and a Jackpot Hi-5 mandatory payout, which generated $957,408.21 in new money, were also highlights of the successful 12-race card.

Sunday afternoon's card from Woodbine generated a $7.2 million handle on an 11-race program. The afternoon included a pair of Grade 1 Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge Series races to cap off Woodbine's Turf Festival Weekend.

The stakes action continued west at Woodbine Mohawk Park, with the Canadian Trotting Classic the marquee race on another large Saturday evening Standardbred program. Horseplayers wagered $3.1 million on the Saturday 13-race card at Mohawk Park, an increase of 9.4 per cent from last year's Trotting Classic.

The strong Saturday followed a $2.6 million handle on Friday's card from Campbellville.

Live racing resumes tonight (Tuesday) at Woodbine Mohawk Park and continues Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Post time is 7 p.m.

Woodbine Thoroughbred action picks back up on Thursday afternoon and runs through the weekend. Post time Thursday, Saturday and Sunday is 1:10 p.m., while Friday's card begins at 4:50 p.m.

For a recap of Woodbine's stakes action, click here.

For a recap of Woodbine Mohawk Park's stakes, click here. 

The post Record Woodbine Mile Handle Paces Huge Weekend With Over $30 Million Wagered appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Live Horse Racing Shut Down In Ontario; Mohawk Park Suspended, Woodbine Opening In Question

Woodbine Entertainment has announced that live Standardbred racing at Woodbine Mohawk Park will be temporarily suspended following this Friday's (April 2) card due to the Government of Ontario imposing a province-wide “emergency brake” of COVID-19 restrictions, effective Saturday, April 3 at 12:01 a.m.

Live horse racing, without spectators, is not currently permitted during the Government of Ontario's 'emergency brake' shutdown, which will be in place in for a minimum of four weeks.

Woodbine Entertainment continues to engage in discussions with the Provincial Government and Halton Region regarding the request to continue safely operating live racing at Woodbine Mohawk Park during this shutdown or a lockdown situation.

As part of these discussions, Woodbine continues to demonstrate its commitment to safety through its industry-leading COVID-19 Prevention Protocols and a safety record that includes not a single case of on-site transmission of the virus at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

In a statement issued on Thursday afternoon Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson indicated that while horse racing will pause on Saturday per provincial guidelines, local health authorities can give the green light for horse racing to resume in their region.

Live racing is schedule to be conducted Friday (April 2) prior to the shutdown. Post time is 7 p.m.

At Woodbine Racecourse, opening day is scheduled for April 17, 2021. The Woodbine backstretch is open and horses are able to train; it is afternoon racing which is currently restricted by the provincial government.

“We have made the argument all along that this is an outdoor activity and we wouldn't be allowing spectators,” Lawson said earlier this month. “Our risk profile in the afternoon is the same as our risk profile in the morning. We should be able to run.”

The Thoroughbred opener could go ahead as scheduled with approval from Toronto Public Health, according to The Battlefords News-Optimist.

“In the coming days, we will continue to discuss our request with Toronto Public Health,” Lawson wrote in a statement to horsemen. “As we head into the long weekend, I am cautiously optimistic about the situation.

“I do fully appreciate the need for a definitive answer so you can plan and prepare accordingly. Rest assured that we are doing everything we can do be able to start our season on time.”

The post Live Horse Racing Shut Down In Ontario; Mohawk Park Suspended, Woodbine Opening In Question appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Woodbine To Debut Dual-Breed Crossover Pick 5 This Friday

Woodbine Entertainment, home of world class Standardbred and Thoroughbred racing, is set to debut a new dual-breed Crossover Pick-5 wager this Friday (Oct. 16).

The Woodbine Crossover Pick-5 will consist of three races from the Standardbreds at Woodbine Mohawk Park, two races from the Thoroughbreds at Woodbine Racetrack and will be part of each Friday's Racing Night Live broadcast on TSN.

The wager will start each Friday on Race 2 at Woodbine Mohawk Park with the second leg Race 7 at Woodbine Racetrack. The wager will continue to alternate between tracks until all five legs of the sequence are complete.

The Woodbine Crossover Pick-5 will have a $0.20 minimum, a 15 per cent takeout and commence each Friday at approximately 7:26 p.m.

Woodbine Crossover Pick-5
Leg 1: Woodbine Mohawk Park (SB) – Race 2
Leg 2: Woodbine Racetrack (TB) – Race 7
Leg 3: Woodbine Mohawk Park (SB) – Race 3
Leg 4: Woodbine Racetrack (TB) – Race 8
Leg 5: Woodbine Mohawk Park (SB) – Race 4

First race post time each Friday is 4:35 p.m. at Woodbine Racetrack and 7 p.m. at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

The post Woodbine To Debut Dual-Breed Crossover Pick 5 This Friday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights