World News – CA – Woodbine is looking for a way to run through the provincial lockdown

Jockey Steven Bahen leads Red River Rebel to victory at the $ 100. 000 Frost King Stakes at Woodbine in November. 20, 2020.

Michael Burns / Woodbine Entertainment

The Woodbine Entertainment bigwigs have been busy trying to figure out what the new Ontario government restrictions, which come into effect Monday in Toronto and Peel, will affect horse racing. According to provincial COVID-19 guidelines, horse racing will not be allowed to resume if a region passes into a “gray” or “exclusion zone” that takes place in Toronto and Peel. Training would be allowed as the horses have to be looked after, regardless of the COVID-19 status. This part of the rules is a bit confusing. Since no spectators are allowed in the stands, there is little difference in terms of the workers who are required to train or run. Most jockeys train and blow horses in the morning and run later. So you are already there. Why should trainers keep training their horses in Woodbine when there are no races? There would be an exodus from the track if they stopped racing.

In a text to the Toronto Sun on Friday evening, WE President Jim Lawson said, “The lockdowns are proposed measures and have not yet been approved by the cabinet and are subject to change. Lawson hopes the race can continue despite the lockdown.

Later on Friday, WE issued a press release: “Since our province’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic began earlier this year, our commitment to public safety has not diminished. We are tremendously supportive of government efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our community. We are also very proud of our safety record at Woodbine Racetrack and Woodbine Mohawk Park in this regard.

To that end, we are currently working to understand the impact of this latest news on the thoroughbred race on the Woodbine Racetrack and the thousands of people it supports across the province.

The Woodbine meeting should last until December. 13th. The opening of the 2020 thoroughbred season has been postponed until June this year due to the pandemic.

Harness racing at Woodbine Mohawk Park continues on schedule as the WE property is in the Halton area.

Meanwhile, the Woodbine Jockey Colony was hit with a positive test this week (Sunny Singh). Due to Singh’s positivity, two other seasoned jockeys – Kazushi Kimura and David Moran – were removed from their mounts on Thursday and Friday as a precautionary measure and asked to test. Their booths are reportedly located in the jockey’s room near Singhs. According to sources, Moran and Kimura, who were North America’s top apprentice jockey last year, have been told they will not be allowed to return to the Etobicoke Oval until they test negative for the virus and have been quarantined for 14 days. At least one jockey agent is outraged that his jockey was quarantined before a positive test was even recorded. A third jockey, Ismael Mosqueira, was removed from his mounts on Friday, although it is not known whether this is related to COVID-19.

Saturday is a big day of racing in Woodbine with four races at stake and both Kimura and Moran should be racing three times each. Also, both should be at the $ 100 on Friday night. 000 Frost King Stakes for two-year-olds in Woodbine. This race was won by the Chestnut Red River Rebel, trained by Rachel Halden, after a beautiful journey from jockey Steve Bahen who found a seam on the inside of the track to overtake Forest Survivor for victory. Denny Andrews and Northern Dawn Stables Inc, owned and bred in Ontario, were Red River Rebels’ first win on its second start after finishing third in October. 23 at Woodbine.

After aspiring young jockey Daisuke Fukumoto led the one-eyed wonder horse Mighty Heart to victories in the first two jewels of the Canadian Triple Crown – the Queen’s Plate and the Prince of Wales Stakes – he was awarded for the $ 125. 000 Ontario derby stakes deducted from Mighty Heart on Saturday. Mighty Heart missed winning the Triple Crown when he finished seventh in the Breeders’ Stakes on Ont. 24. For the Ontario Derby, Fukumoto is off and veteran jockey Rafael Hernandez is on. Ouch.

Fukumoto got off to a good start for Mighty Heart with the breeders, but the colt was tenacious most of the time and set suicide fractions. Mighty Heart faded by the wayside and the $ 400. 000 breeders were won by his stable mate Belichick. That’s what makes Saturday’s rematch in the Ontario Derby so fascinating. Both of the stallions trained by Josie Carroll will attract a ton of money from the punters. Not that it is a two-horse race between Mighty Heart and Belichick. Malibu Mambo, conditioned by Kevin Attard, is dangerous, as are two starters trained by Mark Casse, Lucky Curlin and Deviant.

Choose from a variety of subscription packages and stay up to date with convenient home delivery and our digital e-edition for on the go.

© 2020 St Thomas Times Journal. All rights reserved.
A member of the Sun Media Community Newspapers on the Postmedia Network.

Woodbine Racetrack, Horse Racing, Thoroughbred Racing, Lockdown, Ontario