Woodbine Racecourse Friday Opener to Boast 10 Races
Horseracing fans in Toronto, Ontario have a big betting day to look forward
to on Friday (April 2), as Woodbine Racecourse, one of the most popular
horse racing venues in Canada, will kick off its opening day with a 10-race
program that has attracted 86 thoroughbreds.
While the total number of entrants is slightly down on last year's opening day,
executives of Woodbine Entertainment Group - which owns and operates the premier
Canadian racecourse - are confident that the number of entrants in Woodbine
events will increase as the season continues to unfold.
Said Woodbine racing secretary and a director of racing for the Group, Steve
Lym, 'We're a little light, like I was afraid we'd be. Even though the weather's
been very good, it seemed like the work tab wasn't as busy as it was last year.
I think a lot more horses will be ready in a couple of weeks.'
That said, thousands of fans are expected to descend on Woodbine on Friday, many
to enjoy the day's feature, the inaugural $100,000 Debut Stakes, a fast
five furlong race for Ontario-sired thoroughbreds 4-years-old and up. Of the 11
entrants, favourite Stuck in Traffic should be the horse to beat.
Despite the opening day numbers being down, Lym was excited about the Debut,'
It's turned out to be quite a decent feature,' he said. As an overnight stakes,
the race is not part of Woodbine Racecourse's regularly scheduled stakes program
that consists of 101 races worth a total of $22.7 million.
However, Woodbine Racecourse has felt the effects of the long-lasting economic
downturn in that it has undergone cuts in overnight purses. Base purses for open
allowance and high-priced claiming races have been chopped by five percent ahead
of the start of the meeting due to a 'funding' restructure.
The restructure is being led by Ontario's Thoroughbred Improvement Program and
administered by the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society. Said Lym, 'The cuts
were made to facilitate increases in the Ontario-bred bonus program. More
funding has been allocated to bonuses rather than purses.'
Woodbine paid out over $90 million in purses in 2009, but that figure may
decrease by approximately $4 million in 2010.
