Woodbine Entertainment Group announced a record stakes
schedule worth $19 million for its upcoming 2003 Woodbine Thoroughbred meet. The 2003 stakes include 100 added-money events
featuring Canada's most famous horse race and North America's oldest continuously run stakes event, The Queen's Plate, set for Sunday, June 22. The 144th running of the 1 1/4-mile Canadian classic is the highlight of Woodbine's sixth annual Festival of Racing week.Woodbine's live 167-day Thoroughbred racing season begins on Saturday, March 22, the second day of Spring, and concludes on Sunday,
November 30. The first stakes race of the meet, the $150,000 Achievement Stakes, is set for Sunday, March 30. The richest event on the schedule, once again, is the Grade 1, $1.5 million Canadian International. The date, though, of the 66th renewal
of fall turf race has returned to a popular old spot on the calendar after two consecutive years in September. The 1 1/2-mile event is set for the third weekend of October (Sunday, October 19 in 2003) where it was situated every year, save 1990 and 1996, since 1981. The Grade 1 $750,000 E.P. Taylor Stakes, the International's filly and mare companion, will also be run on October 19.The seventh edition of the Grade 1 Atto Mile, a $1
million event, one of the world's most important turf races, will be run Sunday, September 14."Our 2003 stakes schedule is outstanding," said Chris Evans, Woodbine Entertainment's Director of Thoroughbred Racing. "We did experiment in 2001 and 2002 by placing the Canadian International and the E.P. Taylor in September. This year, we put them back to where they had been essentially been for the previous 20 years, the third weekend of October. We'd like to return to the field size the races enjoyed
during that era."The entire 2003 Woodbine stakes schedule, which is subject to Ontario Racing Commission approval, follows.
2003 Stakes ScheduleMarch
$150,000 ACHIEVEMENT STAKES* - Sunday, March 30April
$125,000 STAR SHOOT STAKES - Saturday, April 5
$125,000 JACQUES CARTIER STAKES - Sunday, April 6
$125,000 WHIMSICAL STAKES - Saturday, April 12
$125,000 WOODSTOCK STAKES - Saturday, April 19
$125,000 LADY ANGELA STAKES** - Sunday, April 20
$150,000 VIGIL STAKES - Saturday, April 26 (Gr. 3)May
$150,000 QUEENSTON STAKES* - Saturday, May 3
$150,000 FURY STAKES* - Sunday, May 4
$150,000 ECLIPSE STAKES - Saturday, May 10 (Gr. 3)
$150,000 GEORGE C. HENDRIE STAKES - Sunday, May 11 (Gr. 3)
$150,000 MARINE STAKES - Saturday, May 17 (Gr. 3)
$125,000 NEW PROVIDENCE STAKES** - Sunday, May 18
$250,000 SELENE STAKES - Monday, May 19 (Gr. 1)
$150,000 CONNAUGHT CUP STAKES - Saturday, May 24 (Gr. 3,
Turf)
$125,000 STEADY GROWTH STAKES** - Wednesday, May 28
$150,000 PLATE TRIAL STAKES* - Saturday, May 31June
$200,000 NASSAU STAKES - Sunday, June 1 (Gr. 2, Turf)
$125,000 BOLD RUCKUS STAKES** - Wednesday, June 4 (Turf)
$125,000 ONTARIO MATRON STAKES - Saturday, June 7
$500,000 LABATT WOODBINE OAKS STAKES* - Sunday, June 8
$125,000 VICTORIA PARK STAKES - Sunday, June 8
$125,000 BALLADE STAKES** - Wednesday, June 11
$125,000 VICTORIA STAKES - Saturday, June 14
$300,000 KING EDWARD BREEDERS' CUP - Sunday, June 15
(Gr. 2, Turf)
$125,000 MY DEAR STAKES - Saturday, June 21
$250,000 NEARCTIC STAKES - Sunday, June 22 (Gr. 2, Turf)
$1,000,000 QUEEN'S PLATE STAKES* - Sunday, June 22
$150,000 CLARENDON STAKES* - Saturday, June 28
$150,000 ONTARIO DAMSEL STAKES* - Sunday, June 29 (Turf)
$200,000 DOMINION DAY STAKES - Monday, June 30 (Gr. 3)July
$125,000 OVERSKATE STAKES** - Wednesday, July 2
$150,000 DANCE SMARTLY STAKES - Saturday, July 5 (Gr. 3, Turf)
$150,000 SHADY WELL STAKES* - Sunday, July 6
$150,000 TORONTO CUP STAKES - Saturday, July 12 (Gr. 3, Turf)
$125,000 COLIN STAKES - Sunday, July 13
$125,000 PASSING MOOD STAKES** - Wednesday, July 16 (Turf)
$125,000 BOLD VENTURE STAKES - Saturday, July 19
$300,000 CHINESE CULTURAL CENTRE STAKES - Sunday, July
20 (Gr. 2,
Turf)
$125,000 NANDI STAKES** - Saturday, July 26
$125,000 BULL PAGE STAKES** - Sunday, July 27
$125,000 ETERNAL SEARCH STAKES** - Wednesday, July 30August
$150,000 ROYAL NORTH STAKES - Saturday, August 2 (Gr. 3,
Turf)
$125,000 SEAGRAM CUP STAKES - Sunday, August 3
$250,000 WONDER WHERE STAKES* - Monday, August 4 (Turf)
$125,000 VICTORIANA STAKES** - Monday, August 4 (Turf)
$125,000 VICE REGENT STAKES** - Wednesday, August 6 (Turf)
$150,000 DUCHESS STAKES - Saturday, August 9 (Gr. 3)
$500,000 BREEDERS' STAKES* - Saturday, August 9 (Turf)
$125,000 ONTARIO DEBUTANTE STAKES - Sunday, August 10
$150,000 PLAY THE KING STAKES - Saturday, August 16 (Gr. 3,
Turf)
$150,000 VANDAL STAKES* - Sunday, August 17
$125,000 SHEPPERTON STAKES** - Saturday, August 23
$125,000 ONTARIO COLLEEN STAKES - Sunday, August 24 (Turf)
$300,000 NIAGARA BREEDERS' CUP STAKES - Saturday, August
30 (Gr. 2,
Turf)
$125,000 SEAWAY STAKES - Sunday, August 31September
$125,000 MUSKOKA STAKES* - Monday, September 1
$125,000 SIMCOE STAKES* - Monday, September 1
$125,000 ELGIN STAKES* - Monday, September 1
$125,000 KENORA STAKES* - Monday, September 1
$125,000 ALGOMA STAKES* - Monday, September 1
$125,000 HALTON STAKES* - Monday, September 1 (Turf)
$150,000 NATALMA STAKES -Saturday, September 6 (Gr. 3, Turf)
$125,000 LA PREVOYANTE STAKES** - Sunday, September 13
(Turf)
$200,000 SUMMER STAKES - Sunday, September 14 (Gr. 2, Turf)
$200,000 CANADIAN STAKES - Sunday, September 14 (Gr. 2, Turf)
$1,000,000 ATTO MILE STAKES - Sunday, September 14 (Gr. 1,
Turf)
$250,000 MAZARINE BREEDERS' CUP STAKES - Saturday,
September 20 (Gr.
2)
$125,000 SWYNFORD STAKES - Sunday, September 21
$125,000 LA LORGNETTE STAKES - Saturday, September 27
$200,000 SKY CLASSIC STAKES - Sunday, September 28 (Gr. 2,
Turf)October
$125,000 VICTORIAN QUEEN STAKES** - Wednesday, October 1
$150,000 DURHAM CUP STAKES - Saturday, October 4 (Gr. 3)
$250,000 GREY BREEDERS' CUP STAKES - Sunday, October 5
(Gr. 2)
$125,000 FROST KING STAKES** - Wednesday, October 8
$250,000 CUP AND SAUCER STAKES* - Saturday, October 11
(Turf)
$250,000 PRINCESS ELIZABETH STAKES* - Sunday, October 12
$150,000 ONTARIO DERBY - Monday, October 13(Gr. 3)
$150,000 CAROTENE STAKES* - Monday, October 13 (Turf)
$125,000 DEPUTY MINISTER STAKES** - Wednesday, October 15
$125,000 BUNTY LAWLESS STAKES** - Saturday, October 18
(Turf)
$150,000 HIGHLANDER STAKES - Sunday, October 19 (Gr. 3)
$750,000 E.P. TAYLOR STAKES - Sunday, October 19 (Gr. 1, Turf)
$1,500,000 CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL - Sunday, October 19 (Gr.
1, Turf)
$125,000 ONTARIO FASHION STAKES - Saturday, October 25
$150,000 FANFRELUCHE STAKES* - Sunday, October 26
$125,000 SOUTH OCEAN STAKES** - Wednesday, October 29November
$250,000 CORONATION FUTURITY* - Saturday, November 1
$175,000 MAPLE LEAF STAKES - Saturday, November 1 (Gr. 3)
$150,000 JAMMED LOVELY STAKES* - Sunday, November 2
$150,000 WOODBINE SLOTS CUP - Saturday, November 8 (Gr. 3)
$125,000 GLORIOUS SONG STAKES - Sunday, November 9
$125,000 DISPLAY STAKES - Saturday, November 15
$150,000 BESSARABIAN STAKES - Sunday, November 16 (Gr. 3)
$125,000 CLASSY'N SMART STAKES** - Wednesday, November
19
$125,000 SIR BARTON STAKES** - Saturday, November 22
$150,000 ONTARIO LASSIE STAKES* - Sunday, November 23
$125,000 KENNEDY ROAD STAKES - Saturday, November 29
$125,000 KINGARVIE STAKES** - Sunday, November 30
$125,000 VALEDICTORY STAKES - Sunday, November 30*starters must be foaled in Canada
**starters must be sired by Ontario-based stallions