Article published on 11 August 2010
Canadian Runners are Making their Mark at Saratoga
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Up until last Sunday, Canadian racehorses have collectively notched up two victories, five seconds and three third places at Saratoga, which is no mean feat considering the high ratio of American-bred horses compared to international horses.
While it's nothing new for Canadian runners to excel at U.S. racing venues, only now does it seem that U.S. betting fans are sitting up and taking notice. Despite a perception that Canadian horses aren't quite up to the standard of U.S. horses.
Whether that perception stems from America's embryonically entrenched 'everything about America is bigger and better' attitude or maybe the lack of Canadian winners in years gone by is not clear. But what is, is that Canucks can run.
One Canadian racehorse trainer who has enjoyed success at Saratoga this summer is Roger Attfield, with wins so far in the $150,000 Lake George Stakes (Gr 2 ) with Perfect Shirl, and in the $70,000 De La Rose Stakes with Miss Keller.
Perhaps this is not surprising considering that over his long and illustrious career which spans 35 years, Attfield has won just about every major race in Canada and more, and was even inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall in 1999.
The point is that as more top Canadian owners, trainers and horses come south to compete with America's best, the better for U.S. betting fans. And who know, perhaps it's just a matter of time before a Canuck wins the Kentucky Derby.
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