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Special Sovereign To Be Awarded By The Jockey Club Of Canada, Media Finalists Named

The Jockey Club of Canada will present Robert “Red” McKenzie with the Special Sovereign Award during the 49th annual awards ceremony on the evening of Thursday, Apr. 18 at Paramount Eventspace in Woodbridge, Ontario, the organization said in a press release Thursday afternoon.

Selected unanimously by the Jockey Club of Canada's Stewards, the Special Sovereign Award recognizes a particular achievement within a given year. The honor is being bestowed upon McKenzie for becoming the oldest trainer to saddle a winner in Canada, doing so at the age of 96 on June 23, 2023.

Also that evening, Michelle Armata will be presented with the 2023 Outstanding Groom Award and Jennifer Buck with the inaugural Outstanding Off-Track Worker Award.

The Jockey Club of Canada has also named the finalists for the 2023 Media Sovereign Awards categories.

Listed in alphabetical order, the Media finalists are:

Digital Audio/Visual and Broadcast Category

Santino Di Paola – Chasing Dreams in the King's Plate
TAXI – Ontario Racing UNFILTERED- Episode 5: The Kings Plate UNFILTERED
Woodbine Entertainment Group – Secretariat The Last Race

Photograph Category

Patricia Burns – Rain Runnin
Allan de la Plante – Holding Back Disaster
Jason Halstead – A Kiss for Commando

Writing Category

Mark Colley – It was the greatest race in Canadian history. Fifty years later, Secretariat's legacy is still felt
Jennifer Morrison – Cat's Long Way Home
Curtis Stock – The Turcottes

Judging for the Media Awards is performed by media professionals within the industry selected from across North America.

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Casse, Kimura on Top of Woodbine Standings

Kazushi Kimura earned his third consecutive riding title at Woodbine with 161 victories during the 2023 meeting which concluded Sunday, while Mark Casse was the track's leading trainer for the 15th time.

“I am very grateful to all the trainers and owners who gave me an opportunity to ride so many great horses this year,” Kimura said. “I'd like to thank the grooms, exercise riders, hot walkers, gate crew, outriders, and everyone who makes our sport so great. And I would like to thank all the horses, the stars of our sport and the best athletes you will find.”

The 2019 Eclipse Award winner as North America's outstanding apprentice, Kimura also won the equivalent Sovereign Award in both 2018 and 2019. He was also the 2021 and 2022 Sovereign recipient as Canada's outstanding rider.

Casse recorded 113 wins at Woodbine in 2023 and his 24 stakes victories included the King's Plate, as well as the GI E.P. Taylor S., GII Nassau S. and GII Royal North S.

Bruno Schickedanz, last year's Sovereign winner as Canada's top owner, was Woodbine's leading owner for the 10th straight year with 58 wins.

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Vella Joins Woodbine as Horse People Liason

Sovereign Award and Queen's Plate-winning trainer Dan Vella has joined Woodbine as Horse People Liaison. Vella will be a point of contact for owners and trainers as it relates to opportunities and feedback regarding race conditions, track surface matters, backstretch maintenance, equine safety and race day logistics.

“Dan is a highly regarded figure on our backstretch that has his finger on the pulse of our racing community,” Jim Lawson, Woodbine Entertainment CEO, said. “Having the ability to add someone like Dan, who has spent over 50 years on our backstretch and enjoyed success at our highest levels, is a big boost for our stakeholder relationships.”

Vella's first stakes victory came in 1985 with Bert James (Dom Alaric {Fr}) in the Sir Barton Stakes. He won his first Queen's Plate with Basqueian (Bounding Basque) in 1994 and a second in 2012 with Strait of Dover (English Channel). He was honored with the Sovereign Award as Canada's outstanding trainer in 1994 and 1995. Overall his runners won over 800 races for $39 million in earnings.

“I am so excited to have this opportunity to work for Woodbine and continue to be involved in the industry and sport that has given me so much,” Vella said.

Vella will begin his new role on Apr. 1.

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Kimura, Casse Win 2022 Woodbine Titles

Eclipse and Sovereign Award winner Kazushi Kimura earned his second consecutive Woodbine jockey crown at the recently concluded Woodbine Thoroughbred meet with 152 wins. Overall his mounts earned $8.9 million (CDN).

Born in Hokkaido, Japan, Kimura joined the Woodbine jockey colony as a 19-year-old apprentice in 2018. He finished his first Woodbine campaign sixth in the standings with 89 wins and his mounts totaled more than $2.3 million in earnings which earned him an Eclipse Award as North America's outstanding apprentice jockey. He also took home the Sovereign Award as top apprentice in both 2018 and 2019, and was Canada's outstanding journeyman rider in 2021.

This year, Kimura won 15 stakes–six graded–at the Toronto oval, including the GI E.P. Taylor with Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) and the GII King Edward aboard Filo Di Arianna (Brz) (Karakontie {Jpn}).

Rafael Hernandez, who finished second with 122 wins, led the way with 17 stakes victories, including the Queen's Plate (to be known starting in 2023 for the first time in more than 70 years as the King's Plate) with the Kevin Attard-trained Moira (Ghostzapper).

Mark Casse topped the trainer leaderboard for the 14th time, saddling 119 winners and banking $9.9 million (CDN) in purse earnings. Casse-trained runners recorded 22 Woodbine stakes victories–13 of them graded.

Al and Bill Ulwelling were the leading money-winning owner of the meet for the first time with $1.6 million (CDN) in purses. Bruno Schickedanz led all owners with 45 wins.

Epilogue and Who's the Star led all horses with five wins each at the meet.

Live Thoroughbred racing will return to Woodbine next spring. Visit woodbine.com throughout the winter for news, notes, features, and other coverage of Woodbine-based horse people.

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