ontario | Horse Racing Free Tips

Woodbine Cancels Final Three Weeks of Meet Due to COVID Restrictions, Will Close After Sunday’s Card

As a result of the Government of Ontario’s announcement Friday that Toronto will be entering the Province’s grey ‘Lockdown’ phase of coronavirus-related restrictions, Woodbine Entertainment announced that Sunday will be the last day in 2020 of Thoroughbred racing in the Province.

“We have been, and continue to be, extremely supportive of the Government’s efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 throughout our Province and appreciate the many difficult decisions they have to make,” said Jim Lawson, CEO, Woodbine Entertainment. “We have approached the Government to explain the impacts this decision will have on our business and the horse racing industry in Ontario. With a better understanding of our operations and based on our safety record in operating live racing at our racetracks, we hope that the Government will consider these impacts in the future and assist us in managing the potentially devastating impact to horsepeople and animal welfare this early shutdown will cause.”

The cancelled race cards (12) at Woodbine Racetrack represented a significant opportunity for horsepeople to earn purse money that is critical for their livelihoods and the welfare of their horses as they enter the off-season for Thoroughbred racing in Ontario.

“Our organization’s sole mandate is to sustain the horse racing industry that supports the livelihoods of 20,000 families throughout the Province,” mentioned Lawson. “Woodbine Entertainment is the engine of that industry and this early shutdown further impacts our business.”

Woodbine Entertainment has approximately 1,300 employees either temporarily or permanently laid off as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This shutdown of racing also negatively impacts the approximately 2,000 horsepeople on the Woodbine backstretch, putting many of them out of work.

The recent ‘Lockdown’ restrictions prohibit live racing although do allow for training to continue, however it is expected that training will be wound down this week.

“Since we started racing at Woodbine and Mohawk Park in early June, we have demonstrated that racing without spectators poses no greater health risk to participants than training,” said Lawson. “We have been a leader in health and safety since the beginning of the pandemic and we are extremely proud of our record and the cooperation of our racing participants in maintaining safe racing environments.”

Woodbine Entertainment will provide further updates Monday regarding the closure of the season at Woodbine Racetrack.

The post Woodbine Cancels Final Three Weeks of Meet Due to COVID Restrictions, Will Close After Sunday’s Card appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Sir Dudley Digges To Enter Stud In Ontario Following Keeneland November Sale

Sir Dudley Digges, the winner of the 2016 Queen's Plate, will begin his stallion career at the Orangeville, Ontario farm of horseman Cole Bennett after the horse sold for $6,700 Wednesday at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, Canadian Thoroughbred reports.

The 7-year-old son of Gio Ponti has been dormant since June 2019, bringing an end to a racing career that saw him win seven of 32 starts for earnings of $939,690. His resume is highlighted by a victory in the 2016 Queen's Plate, the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. He went on to sixth in the Prince of Wales Stakes in Fort Erie, then he returned to form to run second in the Breeders' Stakes.

A well-traveled runner, Sir Dudley Digges went on in later campaigns to win the Old Friends Stakes at Kentucky Downs, and venture all the way to Barbados to win the 2018 Barbados Gold Cup for owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey.

Bred in Ontario by Bernard and Karen McCormack, Sir Dudley Digges is out of the stakes-winning Kris S. mare My Pal Lana, whose five foals to race are all winners.

Bennett, an owner and trainer, told Canadian Thoroughbred that eligible mares would be allowed to stay and breed at the farm this coming spring with no boarding charges. Plans are also in the works to offer bonuses to 2-year-old maiden special weight winners by the new stallion.

Weekend Lineup Presented By Del Mar Ship & Win: Woodbine In The Spotlight

Woodbine grabs the spotlight this weekend as the Ontario track hosts two Grade 1 contests over its renowned turf course in the E.P. Taylor and the Northern Dancer Turf Stakes on Sunday. Belmont Park also has a pair of graded stakes on tap for Sunday that will be televised on “America's Day at the Races” on FS2.

“American's Day at the Races” will also have a special Saturday morning broadcast on FS2 that will showcase British Champions Day from Ascot Racecourse in England. Saturday's broadcast will air on FS2 from 8:30-11a.m. ET and feature four classic Group 1 turf races, headlined by the £750,000 QIPCO Champion Stakes and the £650,000 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, sponsored by QIPCO. Post time for the Group 1 QIPCO Champion Stakes for 3-year-olds and up at 10 furlongs will be 10:40 a.m. with the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes set for 10:05 a.m.

Racing at Keeneland, Santa Anita, and other tracks will be featured on TVG as part of its coast-to-coast coverage. International racing will also continue on Saturday on TVG with the prestigious Champions Day with coverage beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET. The star-studded day of racing will include six events including the Long Distance Gold Cup, which will feature Stradivarius (IRE) making his fourth appearance in the race.

Friday, Oct. 16

5:30 p.m.—$150,000 Grade 3 Valley View Stakes Keeneland on TVG

Godolphin's Antoinette, winner of the Saratoga Oaks Invitational and recently runner-up in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational, tops the field for the 30th running of Valley View, run at 1 1/16 miles on the Keeneland turf course. Trained by Bill Mott, the homebred daughter of Hard Spun will be ridden Friday by Manny Franco and break from post position 12. Headlining the competition to Antoinette is Walk In Marrakesh (IRE), who came within a nostril of winning the Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes in July.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE101620USA9-EQB.html

Saturday, Oct. 17

5:30 p.m.—$200,000 Grade 2 Raven Run Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

Grade 2 winner Venetian Harbor headlines a deep field of 10 3-year-old fillies for the 22nd running of the Raven Run, contested at seven furlongs. Trained by Richard Baltas, Venetian Harbor will be making her first start since finishing second to Gamine in the Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 8. Prior to that, she had finished second to Speech in the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes here and to Swiss Skydiver in the Grade 3 Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park with both those races being two-turn tests going 1 1/16 miles.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE101720USA9-EQB.html

8:15 p.m.—$100,000 Grade 3 Autumn Miss Stakes at Santa Anita Park on TVG

A four-time stakes winner in search of her first graded victory, California-bred Warren's Showtime heads a field of seven sophomore fillies going one mile on turf in the Autumn Miss Stakes. Owned by Ben and Sally Warren and bred by Ben Warren, Warren's Showtime was most recently a close third in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks and is the leading money earner in the field with $460,251.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA101720USA9-EQB.html

Sunday, Oct. 18

1:28 p.m.—$150,000 Grade 2 Knickerbocker Stakes at Belmont Park on FS2

After running second in last year's edition, the Chad Brown-trained Olympico (FR) will get another chance to earn a trip to the winner's circle when he competes as part of a five-horse field in the Knickerbocker for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles on the inner turf. The Knickerbocker was originally scheduled for the Oct. 12 holiday card but was moved to due to inclement weather. That provided Olympico with a few days of extra rest as he makes his first appearance since running fifth in the 1 1/16-mile Lure on September 7 at Saratoga Race Course.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL101820USA3-EQB.html

3:29 p.m.—$300,000 Grade 1 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes at Woodbine on TVG

Trainer Gail Cox will look to net the stakes double with Count Again in the Northern Dancer Turf Stakes. The lightly raced five-year-old son of Awesome Again has been impressive over his six lifetime outings. On Sept. 19, the bay gelding, despite being heavily steadied into the far turn, drove to the front outside of the eighth-pole and secured a 1 ¼ length win in the Grade 3 Singspiel Stakes. It was the first stakes engagement for Count Again, who Cox is counting on once again to come up big on the Woodbine grass.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/WO101820CAN5-EQB.html

4:37 p.m.—$300,000 Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine on TVG

Trainer Gail Cox has a trio of talented turfers taking up the Sam-Son Farm charge, namely, Rideforthecause in the E.P. Taylor, as well as Count Again and Say the Word in the Northern Dancer. A four-year-old daughter of Candy Ride (ARG), Rideforthecause rolls into the E.P. Taylor off two straight scores, both of them contested at Woodbine. After an allowance victory at 1 1/16 miles on the Toronto oval Inner Turf on Aug. 1, the bay was back in the winner's circle on Sept. 12, winning the Canadian Stakes presented by the Japan Racing Association (G2) at the distance of about 1 1/8 miles on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/WO101820CAN7-EQB.html

4:47 p.m.—$150,000 Grade 2 Hill Prince Stakes at Belmont Park on FS2

West Point Thoroughbreds, William Sandbrook, William Freeman and Cheryl Manning's Decorated Invader will see a cutback in distance when competing against fellow sophomores in the 46th running of the Hill Prince going one mile over the Widener turf. Trained by Christophe Clement, Decorated Invader arrives off a fifth-place finish in the Saratoga Derby on Aug. 15. The Saratoga Derby was the first loss of the year for Decorated Invader, who captured the Cutler Bay on March 28 at Gulfstream Park in his 2020 bow before winning the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge on June 20 at Belmont Park and the Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame on July 18 at Saratoga.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/BEL101820USA9-EQB.html

4:57 p.m.—$125,000 Grade 3 Dowager Stakes at Keeneland on TVG

Calumet Farm's Siberian Iris (IRE), second against the boys this summer in the Grade 3 San Juan Capistrano at Santa Anita, tops a field of six fillies and mares in the 1 ½-miles Dowager. Trained by Richard Mandella, Siberian Iris stayed at Keeneland following a fifth-place finish in the TVG Stakes at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 15.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/KEE101820USA8-EQB.html

5:45 p.m.—$250,000 Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes at Woodbine on TVG

A field of nine headed up by multiple graded stakes winner Silent Poet are set to contest the Nearctic going six furlongs on the turf. Silent Poet has won three of his last four starts and enters off of an allowance win at Woodbine on Sept. 27. Among the top challengers are defending Nearctic winner City Boy.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/WO101820CAN9-EQB.html

8 p.m.—$200,000 Grade 2 Twilight Derby at Santa Anita Park on TVG

Cannon Thoroughbreds homebred Smooth Like Strait returns to Southern California and will try to stretch his speed to 1 1/8-miles on turf as he heads a field of nine sophomores in the Twilight Derby. A resounding 2 ½ length winner of the Grade 2 La Jolla Handicap two starts back, Smooth Like Strait, who is trained by Michael McCarthy, finished fourth as the 6-5 favorite in the Grade 2 American Turf at Churchill Downs on Sept. 5 and will likely vie for favoritism with midwestern invader Field Pass.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA101820USA9-EQB.html

The post Weekend Lineup Presented By Del Mar Ship & Win: Woodbine In The Spotlight appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Back-To-Back ‘Huge’ Races Propel Channel Maker Into Breeders’ Cup Turf

Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber, R.A. Hill Stable and Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Channel Maker secured his fourth Grade 1 win with a stellar front-running performance in Saturday's Joe Hirsch Turf Classic.

The victory marked Channel Maker's second win from four Joe Hirsch starts, having previously won in 2018. His previous Joe Hirsch efforts included a sixth in 2017 and a second last year.

Bred in Ontario by the Tall Oaks Farm of Ivan Dalos, the 7-year-old was purchased privately early in his sophomore season and transferred to the care of Mott.

Channel Maker scored his first win for Mott in his fifth attempt by taking the 12-furlong Breeders' Stakes, third leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, by a nose when traveling his preferred 12 furlongs on Woodbine's E.P. Taylor turf course.

The veteran English Channel gelding now boasts a record of 36-7-5-4 with purse earnings in excess of $2.63-million with his other Grade 1 scores coming in the 2019 Man o' War at Belmont and the Sword Dancer in August at Saratoga, which offered a “Win and You're In” berth to the Breeders' Cup Turf.

“We got him as a 3-year-old and it took us a little while to get through the 'one-other-than' condition,” said Mott. “It's interesting how you go from that and he has now developed into winning four Grade 1s. He was a nice horse and we purchased him because he looked like he had potential, but he didn't really get going until he won the Breeders'.”

Channel Maker paired up back-to-back 108 Beyers for his last two winning efforts.

“I love the horse. He's run two huge, huge races,” said Mott.

Channel Maker is out of the late Horse Chestnut mare In Return, who also produced multiple Grade 1-winner Johnny Bear, also by English Channel, and a stakes-winning half-sister by Court Vision, the Ontario-bred Court Return, who ran third in the Grade 2 Canadian in September at Woodbine.

Mott said he is cautiously optimistic about Channel Maker's chances as he makes a third attempt at the 12-furlong Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf.

“You don't know what's going to show up [in the Breeders' Cup.], but it seems like he came back good,” said Mott. “He's run two spectacular races, has he got three in a row in him – we don't know. It's not going to cost us anything to find out.

“I would think in the fall you could get soft ground there,” added Mott. “That would be in his favor.”

Juddmonte Farms' regally bred Tacitus worked a bullet half-mile in 47.20 seconds Sunday morning on Big Sandy working in company with Will Sing for Wine, who applied pressure to the pacesetter.

“The track was pretty quick. His work looked good,” said Mott. “He went out with his ears up. [Will Sing for Wine] was just a length off to have somebody push him along a little bit.”

Tacitus will target Saturday's Grade 1, $250,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup, a 10-furlong test on Big Sandy for 3-year-olds and upward with a “Win and You're In” berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic on the line.

Jose Ortiz will have the call on Tacitus, a 4-year-old Tapit grey who boasts a record of 13-4-4-2 with more than $2.9 million in earnings. Out of the champion mare Close Hatches, Tacitus captured the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby and Grade 2 Wood Memorial last year and added the Grade 2 Suburban to his ledger in July at Belmont.

The probable Jockey Club Gold Cup field includes Danny California (Orlando Noda), Happy Saver (Todd Pletcher), Mystic Guide (Michael Stidham), Plus Que Parfait (Brendan Walsh), and Prioritize (H. James Bond).

A busy Saturday of racing at Belmont for Mott also included off-the-board efforts from Moon Over Miami [sixth], who captured the Dueling Grounds Derby at Kentucky Downs in September, and South Bend [seventh] in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby.

“I guess there was a difference in the competition from the Dueling Grounds Derby to what he faced here,” said Mott. “I don't know that he ran quite as good a race as he did down there but I suppose the first two or three horses in here were better.”

The post Back-To-Back ‘Huge’ Races Propel Channel Maker Into Breeders’ Cup Turf appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post