BloodHorse.com | Horse Racing News

Worries Ahead as 2012 Woodbine Season Begins

A 167-day meet at Woodbine in Ontario, Canada, is set to begin April 6, but the lingering slots-at-racetracks issue could make the 2012 meet the last one of its kind.

Canadian Horseman Michael Colterjohn Dies

Dr. Michael Colterjohn, president of Gardiner Farms near Caledon East, Ontario, Canada, died March 28 following a battle with brain cancer.

Baze Heads Canadian Hall of Fame Nominees

Russell Baze, racing's winningest jockey, tops a list of 15 horse people and Thoroughbreds nominated for election to the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame's class of 2012.

Study Shows Racing's Value in Canada, Ontario

A recently released study shows horse racing has a $5.7 billion economic impact in Canada, and that racing in the province of Ontario accounts for 26% of total expenditures for the Canadian horse industry.

Court Vision Gets First Mare in Foal

Court Vision has his first mare pronounced in foal. Coogee Sunrise, by Deputy Commander out of the Spectacular Bid mare Southern Affair, was pronounced in foal March 5.

Midwest/Canada Regional: High Flyer

Mark Casse has referred to his vast Thoroughbred training business at Woodbine racetrack as a "well-oiled machine" that runs smoothly from the early morning hours to late in the day.

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Stakes-Placed Spaniard to Gardiner Farms

Stakes-placed Spaniard has been retired from racing and will stand the 2012 breeding season at Gardiner Farms near Caledon, Ontario, Canada.

Ontario Official Targets Racing's Slots Money

A top government official in Ontario Feb. 14 questioned the $345 million horse racing gets from province-operated slot machines given a $16 billion budget deficit.

Old Forester Tops Ontario TIP List

Old Forester, who stands at T.C. Westmeath Stud Farm in Ontario, Canada, topped the Thoroughbred Improvement Program stallion awards list.

Maritimer's Owner is Undisclosed

Probable 2011 Canadian champion 2-year-old male Maritimer has been sold but the owner is apparently not controversial Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov.

Queen's Plate Winner Mike Fox Retired

Mike Fox, the 2007 Queen's Plate Stakes winner for breeder/owner D. Morgan Firestone, has been retired from racing for stallion duty at Firestone Farms near Caledon, Ontario, Canada.

Sikura President of CTHS Executive Committee

R. Glenn Sikura has been elected president and national director of the executive committee of the Ontario division of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society by the board of directors.

Sovereign Award Finalists Announced

The Jockey Club of Canada will host its 37th Annual Sovereign Awards Ceremony to honor the Canadian Champions of 2011 April 5, 2012, on the third floor of Woodbine.

Sovereign Award Finalist Embur's Song Retired

Embur's Song, a finalist for 2011 Canadian champion older female and a graded stakes winner at Keeneland, has been retired from racing to become a broodmare for owner Issam Fares,

First Foal for Temple City is a Filly

Graded stakes winner Temple City sired his first reported foal Jan. 13 when a bay filly was born at Anderson Farms in Ontario, Canada.

Grade II Winner Exhi to T.C. Westmeath

Exhi, a grade II winner at Keeneland and a multiple stakes winner at Woodbine, will enter stud as a 5-year-old this year at John and Doris Carey's T.C. Westmeath Stud Farm near Shelburne, Ontario.

Straight Story in Big Upset in Autumn Stakes

Richard Santulli's Straight Story, at 38-1 the longest price in a 10-horse field, made his synthetic surface debut a winning one when he captured the $150,000 Autumn Stakes (Can-II) at Woodbine Nov. 12.

Grade I Winner Gayego to Stand at Norse Ridge

Grade I winner and millionaire Gayego will enter stud in 2012 at the Hunderup family's Norse Ridge Farm near King City, Ontario, Canada.

Trainer Cox Makes Breeders' Cup Debut

Jockey Chantal Sutherland may be the most famous Canadian female participating in the Breeders' Cup. But she's not the only one. Gail Cox is operating under the radar as the trainer of Hard Not to Like.

Ontario CTHS Winter Mixed Sale Has 185 Lots

The Ontario division of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society has cataloged 185 lots for its winter mixed sale and supplemental entries are still being accepted.

Court Vision to Stand in Canada in 2012

B. Wayne Hughes' four-time grade I winner Court Vision will be retired following the Nov. 5 TVG Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) and will enter stud in 2012 at Michael Byrne's Park Stud in Ontario, Canada.

Jockey Da Silva Out for the Rest of 2011

Jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva will be out for the rest of the 2011 racing season after an incident in the Oct. 15 Cup and Saucer Saucer Stakes at Woodbine.

Sid Martin, Canadian Trainer, Dies

Canadian trainer Sid Martin, who started his career in the racing industry as a hot walker at $5 a week in 1943 and later trained a Kentucky Derby (gr. I) contender, died Oct. 3 following a lengthy illness.

Saint Stephen Sires First Winner

Saint Stephen, a graded stakes-winning full brother to Horse of the Year Ashado, came through with his first winner when his daughter Holy Tempest scored at Northlands Park.

Canadian Select Sale Posts Gains

A son of War Front topped the CTHS yearling sale Sept. 6 when he sold for $140,000 Canadian funds to William and Anne Scott.

CTHS Sale Average Jumps 11%

A strong second select session at the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society's yearling sale of Canadian-bred youngsters at Woodbine helped spur an 11% jump in average price from 2010.

Bold Executive Progeny Shine at Woodbine Sale

A colt by Canada's perennial leading sire Bold Executive topped the first session of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society's Canadian-bred yearling sale Sept. 5 at the Woodbine sales pavilion.

Seeking the Best Represented by First Winner

Seeking the Best picked up his first winner as a stallion when his 2-year-old daughter, Family Reserve, defeated Is This a Secret by a neck in a six-furlong maiden claiming event at Woodbine in Canada Aug. 19.

Strong First Half of Woodbine Meet

Woodbine Entertainment Group reported all-source betting on the live Woodbine Racecourse meet increased 11.82% on wagering handle of $206,056,400 at the halfway mark of the 167-day meet.

Canadian Graded Stakes Good for BC Points

Horses finishing first, second, or third in graded stakes in Canada will receive official Breeders' Cup points that can determine starting positions in the World Championships.

Canadian Hall of Famer Lawson Dies

Mel Lawson, a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, died July 27 in Burlington, Ontario.

Heat Forces Tracks to Cancel Racing

Due to extreme heat conditions live Thoroughbred racing at Woodbine and Colonial Downs was canceled July 21, and Monmouth Park rescheduled its July 22 program for July 25.

JC of Canada Elects New Stewards, Members

At the annual meeting of members of The Jockey Club of Canada June 25 at Woodbine Racetrack, three new stewards and 22 new members were appointed to the organization.

Leading Broodmare Radiant Ring Dies

Radiant Ring, a Canadian Broodmare of the Year, was euthanized May 3 at age 23 because of complications from old age.

Canadian Hall of Famer Wilderness Song Dies

Wilderness Song, a Canadian Hall of Fame racemare, has been euthanized at Sam-Son Farm near Milton, Ontario, Canada.

Northern Dancer on display at Woodbine

Woodbine Entertainment Group will be celebrating the life of Northern Dancer from the end of May through the end of June.

Sam-Son Dominates Hall of Fame Voting

The late Tammy Samuel-Balaz, who took charge of Sam-Son Farm following the death of her father, Ernie Samuel, in 2000, has joined her dad in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall Fame.

Midwest/Canada Regional: Friends and Family

Indiana Stallion Station is back on its feet thanks to some key help.

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Biofuel Named Canada's Horse of Year for 2010

Brereton Jones' homebred filly Biofuel, winner of four stakes at Woodbine in 2010, was named Canada's Horse of the Year April 1 during the Sovereign Awards presentations at Woodbine.

MID Shareholders OK Deal With Stronach

Shareholders of MI Developments voted March 29 to end the company's "dual class share" structure and turn its racing-related holdings over to chairman Frank Stronach.

Woodbine Reduces Takeout on Trifecta Wager

Woodbine Entertainment Group announced that the takeout on its triactor (trifecta) wager by 2% for the upcoming live Thoroughbred meet that begins April 2 at the Toronto, Canada track.

Midwest/Canada Regional: Tree Top

Rudy and Virginia Tarra hit the heights with Giant Oak

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Increased Purses, Lower Takeouts at Hastings

Hastings Racecourse & Slots in Vancouver, British Columbia has announced increased purses and decreased takeouts on wagering for the 71-day meet that begins April 16.

Queen's Plate Highlights Woodbine Schedule

Woodbine Racecourse has released a 2011 schedule consisting of 102 stakes offering nearly $22 million in purses, including cuts to two of its major races.

Stronach's Control of Magna Tracks Approved

A majority of shareholders in MI Developments have agreed to support the transfer of the company's racetracks to Frank Stronach in exchange for the company chairman to relinquish his voting control over MID.

Ricoh to Sponsor Woodbine Mile for Two Years

Woodbine Entertainment Group has announced that one of its premier races will be sponsored by technology company Ricoh Canada under a two-year agreement.

Hooh Why Heads Sovereign Finalists

Sovereign Award finalists were announced Jan. 19; Blood-Horse article nominated for Outstanding Feature Story.

Sand Cove Top Earner in Ontario Program

Sand Cove, a multiple stakes winner and Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society yearling sale graduate, has been named the overall champion of the Ontario Sired Racing Rewards Program.

Zensational Sires First Foal

Grade I winner Zensational, whose fee of $25,000 was the highest for an incoming stallion in 2010, sired his first foal Jan. 4.

Canadian Jockey Landry Retires

Canadian jockey Robert Landry, whose 2,045 career wins included the 2004 Queen's Plate with Niigon, has announced his retirement.