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The King's Plate is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race and the oldest continuously run race in North America, having been founded in 1860. It is run at a distance of 1+1⁄4 miles for a maximum of 17 three-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada.
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic premise – to identify which of two or more horses is the fastest over a set course or distance – has been mostly unchanged since at least classical antiquity.
Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait. They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia and New Zealand, races with jockeys riding directly on saddled trotters are also conducted.
Greenwood Raceway was a horse racing facility in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track was opened in 1956 with a one-mile oval dirt track, as well as a seven-eights turf course. It has been extensively remodeled since 1993, and since 1994 has had three racecourses.
Mohawk Racetrack is a harness racing track in Campbellville, Ontario. It is owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group and is about 40 km southwest of the company's other racetrack, Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Woodbine Mohawk Park also has a large slot machine parlour with over 1,000 slot machines, which is operated by Great Canadian Entertainment; some of the revenue from this operation is used to increase the horseracing purses. Ken Middleton is the longtime track announcer.
William Arthur O'Donnell is a prominent harness racing driver.
Harness racing, also colloquially known as trotting or the trots, is a spectator sport in Australia, with significant amounts of money wagered annually with bookmakers and the Totalisator Agency Board (TAB). In Australia there are 90 harness racing tracks, which hold over 1,900 meetings annually. There are approximately 2,900 drivers and 4,000 trainers with about 5,000 Standardbred horses foaled and registered each year.
The New Zealand Cup for standardbred horses, also known as either the New Zealand Trotting Cup or the New Zealand Pacing Cup is a Group One (G1) harness race held annually by the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington Raceway in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The Canadian International Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses from three years of age and upwards on Turf. It is held annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The current purse is CA$750,000.
The Victoria Cup is the premier middle distance harness race of Australia. Conducted over 2575m, rather than the staying distance of over 3000m or the sprint distance of under 2000m, the Victoria Cup was run at the Melbourne Showgrounds up until 1975, when it was shifted to Moonee Valley. In 2009 the SEW Eurodrive Victoria Cup will be run at Harness Racing Victoria's new venue, Melton Entertainment Park at Melton. The race has been part of the Australasian Grand Circuit since 1987. Conducted in February from 1987 to 2003, the race is now conducted over two nights in December, alongside the Australasian Trotting Grand Prix.
The Auckland Pacing Cup which is sometimes referred to as the Auckland Trotting Cup or merely the Auckland Cup is a race held at Alexandra Park in Auckland, New Zealand for Standardbred horses. It is one of the two major harness races, along with the New Zealand Cup, held in New Zealand each year for the highest grade pacers. It is a Group 1 championship race and has been won by many of the champion pacers in New Zealand.
Cam's Card Shark (1991-2020) is an American champion standardbred horse. His sire (father) was Cam Fella, who earned more than $2 million during his racing career, and his dam (mother) was Jef's Magic Trick, who only earned $28,340 during her career. He was named the 1994 American Horse of the Year by the United States Trotting Association and held the then-record of most money earned by a Standardbred horse in a single year. During his two years of competition until his retirement in 1994, Cam's Card Shark had 20 wins, earning more than $2.4 million.
The Queen City Pace was a Canadian harness race for three-year-old Standardbred pacers run each year at Greenwood Raceway in Toronto, Ontario, except in 1978 where it was run at Mohawk Racetrack. The Queen City Pace was run from 1964 through 1983 after which it was replaced by the North America Cup.
The Governor's Cup is an American harness racing event run annually for two-year-old Standardbred pacers at a distance of one mile. First run in 1985 as a fixed event at Garden State Park, that track closed on May 3, 2001 and the Governor's Cup would then be run at various race venues in the U.S. Northeast and in Ontario, Canada. In 2013, the race became part of the 'Fall Four' stakes and alternated between Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey and Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Since 2017, it has been held at Meadowlands Racetrack.
The Breeders 2YO Filly Trot is a harness racing event for two-year-old Standardbred filly trotters. It is one part of the Breeders Crown annual series of twelve races for both Standardbred trotters and pacers. First run in 1985, it is contested over a distance of one mile. Race organizers have awarded the event to various racetracks across North America.
Canadian Harness Horse of the Year is an annual award in the sport of harness racing in Canada. It is the most prestigious Canadian award among those given to a Standardbred horse. Part of the O'Brien Award program, named in honour of legendary Canadian driver / trainer Joe O'Brien since 1989, the Horse of the Year award honours the top performing pacer or trotter in Canadian racing. In 2018, Standardbred Canada renamed the award to the Somebeachsomewhere Horse of the Year to honour the late champion, who died earlier that year. Operated by Standardbred Canada, its website states that "every media person across Canada who covers harness racing on a regular basis receives a ballot, this includes writers for the various trade publications as well as those in print, radio and television. All Canadian race secretaries and track publicists also participate in the voting," and that "The voters' list is vigorously scrutinized each year with names added and deleted when necessary."
The Maple Leaf Trot is a harness race for Standardbred trotters three years of age and older. It is run at a distance of one mile at Mohawk Racetrack in Campbellville, Ontario.
The South Ocean Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. A race for two-year-old fillies on Tapeta synthetic dirt over a distance of a mile and a sixteen, it offers a purse of $100,000. Part of the Ontario Sire Stakes program, it is restricted to horses sired by a stallion certified as standing in the Province of Ontario.
Bettor's Delight is a former champion American Standardbred race-horse and one of the World's greatest stud stallions.
References
- ↑ Woodbine Entertainment Group North America Cup Winners Ledger retrieved October 11, 2016
- ↑ Woodbine Entertainment Group article titled "History of North America Cup" retrieved October 11, 2016