Toronto's Woodbine Racetrack Operates Year
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Toronto’s Woodbine Racetrack operates year- round with a reputation for big purses, exciting races and world-class facilities. Winner STORY BY KARL WOLFSHOHL P H O T O S B Y YVONNE DUIVENVOORDEN actually look down on three tracks: a central here, too, in 1973. Considered the best Superlatives de/ne Woodbine, but people one made of hard dirt for Standardbred racehorse of all time, the big, good-natured make it a champion. harness racing and wrapped by the synthetic chestnut won the Woodbine’s Canadian “What convinces a person to get up at 4 Polytrack, then both are surrounded by International on a cold October a5ernoon, or 5 in the morning, day a5er day, and work what is likely the most expensive grass in beating the others handily. his tail o8 around racehorses, which can be Canada, the E.P. Taylor Turf Course. E.P. Taylor and the Ontario Jockey dangerous and must be respected?” muses The synthetic and natural courses are Club started Woodbine in 1956 as they Steve Koch, Woodbine’s vice president of only for Thoroughbreds, and some really consolidated several older tracks and foroughbred racing. good ones have run here. Northern Dancer upgraded the provincial racing industry. “We have 20-, 30- and even 40-year did, in 1964. This was just after he won Adding a Standardbred track in 1994 employees who eat, sleep and breathe the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and made it the only racing facility in North Woodbine and horse racing. fey /ght to just before he became the most successful America that could stage Thoroughbred the bloody end to put on the absolute /nest foroughbred sire of the 20th century. A and Standardbred races on the same day. product that they can for us. You see it in statue of this great athlete welcomes visitors And in 2006, Woodbine’s Thoroughbred the jocks’ room, in the paddocks, around to the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, dirt track was replaced with synthetic, all- the horses, in the race office. You see it on the Woodbine premises. Secretariat ran weather Polytrack. everywhere. fey are passionate.” >> Average number of Thoroughbred races per year: 1,560 /// Value of annual purses at Woodbine and sister track Mohawk: $75 million /// Summer 2012 19 0412MRBE_FLsummer12p18_21v2.indd 19 4/24/12 4:00 PM.