Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack is a Canadian racetrack for Thoroughbred horse races located at 555 Rexdale Blvd. in the city of Toronto, Ontario. It is the only horseracing track in North America which stages, or is capable of staging, thoroughbred and standardbred horse racing programs on the same day. It is owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, formerly known as the Ontario Jockey Club. The track was opened in 1956. It has been extensively remodeled since 1993, and since 1994 has three racecourses.
Woodbine Racetrack History
The current Woodbine carries the name originally used by a racetrack which operated in east Toronto, at Queen Street East and Kingston Road, from 1874 through 1993. (While the Old Woodbine Race Course was at the south end of Woodbine Avenue, the current Woodbine is nowhere near it.) On June 12, 1956 the name was transferred to the new racetrack which would be known as New Woodbine Racetrack until 1963 when the "New" was dropped from the name. The old track was converted to a combined thoroughbred and standardbred track known thereafter as Old Woodbine or, for most of the rest of its history, as Greenwood Raceway (during standardbred meets) and Greenwood Race Track (during thoroughbred meets). The two thoroughbred and two standardbred meets conducted at Greenwood were transferred to the new Woodbine in 1994, which was until then exclusively devoted to thoroughbred racing. On July 4, 2010 Queen Elizabeth II visited the Racetrack as part of her state visit to Canada, viewing the 151st running of The Queen's Plate Stakes, as well as taking part in the presentation of trophies and holding a book signing.
The track was the opening venue for the 1976 Summer Paralympics. The Breeders' Cup was held at Woodbine in 1996. The Arlington Million was held at Woodbine in 1988. The Woodbine facility is also home to the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.
The outermost E. P. Taylor turf course for thoroughbreds is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long with a chute allowing races of 1.125 miles (1.811 km) to be run around one turn. It is irregularly shaped, the clubhouse turn departing from the traditional North American oval, and the backstretch is from 2.5 feet (76 cm) to 3 feet (91 cm) higher than the homestretch. The Taylor turf course and the main dirt course at Belmont Park on New York's Long Island are the only mile-and-a-half layouts in North American thoroughbred racing.
Inside the Taylor course is the main Polytrack course for Thoroughbreds. A left-handed one-mile oval with chutes facilitating races at seven furlongs [.875 miles (1.408 km)] and at 1.5 miles (2.4 km) the Polytrack synthetic dirt surface has been in use since August 30, 2006. Inside the Polytrack course is an oval Standardbred racecourse seven-eighths of a mile [.875 miles (1.408 km) in circumference, made of crushed limestone. The ground floor of the stands houses a slot machine parlour. Some of the income from the slot machines is used to supplement the horserace purses.
Woodbine Racetrack Live Horse Racing Schedule
Monday through Sunday, occasional added days, dark Tuesdays
Post Time at Woodbine Racetrack
Monday: 7:10pm Wednesday: 6:45 pm Saturday and Sunday: 1:00 pm Thursday: 2:00 pm Friday: 1:00 pm (April 8 - May 20, October 1 - December 2) and 2:00 pm (May 27 - September 30)
Woodbine Racetrack Track Code
Current Weather Conditions at Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack Graded Stakes Races
| Stakes Race | Grade | Purse |
|---|---|---|
| Eclipse Stakes | III | $150,000 |
| Nassau Stakes | II | $300,000 |
| King Edward Stakes | II | $250,000 |
| Highlander Stakes | II | $200,000 |
| Singspiel Stakes | III | $150,000 |
| Queen's Plate Stakes | I | $1,000,000 |
| Dominion Day Stakes | III | $200,000 |
| Dance Smartly Stakes | II | $300,000 |
| Ontario Matron Stakes | III | $150,000 |
| Nijinsky Stakes | II | $300,000 |
| Royal North Stakes | III | $150,000 |
| Sky Classic Stakes | II | $250,000 |
| Ontario Colleen Stakes | III | $150,000 |
| Play the King Stakes | II | $200,000 |
| Seaway Stakes | III | $150,000 |
| Natalma Stakes | III | $200,000 |
| Summer Stakes | III | $250,000 |
| Canadian Stakes | II | $300,000 |
| Northern Dancer Turf Stakes | I | $500,000 |
| Woodbine Mile Stakes | I | $1,000,000 |
| Selene Stakes | III | $250,000 |
| Grey Stakes | III | $200,000 |
| Nearctic Stakes | I | $500,000 |
| E.P. Taylor Stakes | I | $1,000,000 |
| Canadian International Stakes | I | $1,500,000 |
| Autumn Stakes | II | $150,000 |
| Kennedy Road Stakes | III | $150,000 |
| Bessarabian Stakes | III | $150,000 |
| Valedictory Stakes | III | $150,000 |
Woodbine Racetrack Contact Information
Mailing Address:
Woodbine
555 Rexdale Blvd.
Rexdale, Ontario M9W 5L2
Street Address:
555 Rexdale Blvd.
Rexdale, Ontario M9W 5L2
