TORONTO, July 6, 2019 – One Bad Boy kicked off his quest for the OLG Canadian Triple Crown title and bonus by leading all the way in the 160th edition of the $1 million Queen’s Plate last Saturday at Woodbine.

The record-breaking Queen’s Plate day, with handle topping $18 million, featured an abundance of star power in stakes action.

Woodbine’s award-winning track photographer Michael Burns captured highlights from the post position draw all the way through to the 1-1/4-mile first leg of the of OLG Canadian Triple Crown. Relive all the action below.

 

By: Colin Nolte and Tommy Cosgrove for Woodbine.com

The Queen’s Plate, the most important race for Canadian three-year-old Thoroughbreds, is the oldest continuously run stakes race on the North American continent. The event is steeped in tradition and folklore. From the awarding of 50 Royal Sovereigns, which dates back to the original purse awarded at its first running, to the presence of reigning monarchs or representatives of the Royal family, the annual classic honours both history and modern times as a spectacle and an important day on the Canadian sporting calendar.

Recent editions of this classic event have been won by fillies racing against the best colts in Canada. Last year’s winner Wonder Gadot, 2017 winner Holy Helena, and 2014 winner Lexie Lou each claimed the most prestigious prize in Canadian racing. Three years before Lexie Lou, Inglorious (trained by Josie Carroll) won the Plate. That makes it four filly winners in the past eight years. A remarkable run of success for the ladies of the turf.

When you consider that a Canadian Thoroughbred has only one opportunity to win a Queen’s Plate in their lifetime, this recent rise of filly Plate winners demonstrates we’re in a golden age of Canadian female Thoroughbreds. Wonder Gadot followed up her impressive win with another in the Prince of Wales Stakes, thus capturing two legs of the OLG Canadian Triple Crown. She would later be awarded the Sovereign Award as 2018 Canadian Horse of the Year due to her sensational triumphs over male counterparts.

Holy Helena, Lexie Lou and Inglorious had previously captured the Woodbine Oaks presented by Budweiser, known with tongue-in-cheek as “The Fillies’ Plate” prior to winning Canada’s biggest race in their respective three-year-old seasons. Inglorious and Holy Helena both were chosen as Champion three-year0old filly for their exploits on the track, while Lexie Lou one upped them by taking 2014 Sovereign Award Horse of the Year honours, as well as Champion three-year-old filly.

There have been 37 filly winners of the Queen’s Plate in the first 159 runnings of the race.  Twenty-three per cent (23%) Queen’s Plate winners are fillies. This is an extraordinary record for the distaff side of racing. Many famous fillies in Canadian racing have beaten the boys including Flaming Page, Canada’s Queen of Racing, the incomparable Dance Smartly, and her daughter Dancethruthedawn. Legendary “Queens” in their own right, they are members of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.  The latest four filly winners are poised to be just as revered to future generations.

This year’s edition, the 160th running of the Queen’s Plate, will have Desert Ride in the field. She’ll need to be at her best because of the stellar field of colts looking to make their own history. Colts such as Avie’s Flatter and Skywire will try their best to keep the ladies behind them at the finish line.

“Lady Power” in the Queen’s Plate is not restricted to the equine females that have participated. Hall of Fame inductee Josie Carroll is the only woman trainer to win the Plate. In fact, Carroll has trained two Queen’s Plate champions (Edenwold in 2006 being the other) and will be sending out this year’s early favourite Avie’s Flatter this year. Popular jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson rode Mike Fox to victory in 2007 to become the only woman jockey to pilot a Queen’s Plate winner.

In a sport which for centuries has been dominated by human and equine males, their female equivalents have risen substantially to not only compete, but to defeat their male counterparts on equal terms. “Lady Power” in the Queen’s Plate has never been more noticeable than what we are witnessing in recent years, as they kick down the doors of what was perceived traditionally as a “Men’s Only” club.

The Queen’s Plate brings the best three-year-old Canadian-bred horses together, with each one vying to become forever known as “A Queen’s Plate Champion.” This annual event also brings out thousands of fans dressed in their finest in attendance. The glamour of fashionably dressed ladies gives the Queen’s Plate an aura of elegance unseen in any other sporting event in this country. With the resounding successes of recent Thoroughbred ladies, an equine “Battle of the Sexes” has brought considerable pleasure to those in attendance. It’s no longer considered as an upset victory for a distaff equine to win the Queen’s Plate, but a distinct possibility.

Competing in a race named in honour of a lady monarch and watching a filly beat the boys seems apropos. Outstanding and fast fillies, talented and professional trainers and jockeys, as well as elegant ladies in attendance give the Queen’s Plate a sense of excitement and intrigue that no other sporting event can offer in Canada. We embrace “Queen’s Plate Lady Power.” There is no other day on the calendar like it.

TORONTO, May 30, 2019 – Woodbine Entertainment presents “The Photo Finish,” the official Queen’s Plate Style Guide for 2019.

The Photo Finish was created and edited by local filmmaker Zach Ramelan, in partnership with Buffer Festival, and features a cast of prominent, young Canadian talent sporting fabulous fashion provided by David Dunkley Fine Millinery, Official Milliner of the Queen’s Plate, Ever New and GotStyle.

The two-day Queen’s Plate Festival runs from Friday, June 28 to Saturday, June 29 at Woodbine, featuring the 160th running of the prestigious $1 million Queen’s Plate on Saturday, June 29. Live entertainment includes concerts headlined by Canadian country duo High Valley and JUNO-Award winning group The Washboard Union.

For more information or to purchase tickets to the Queen’s Plate Festival, visit www.queensplate.com.

CREDITS

Featuring: Devante Burey, Michael Rizzi, Myles Sexton, Marissa Papaconstantinou, Rachel David, Elise Purdon, Naomi Lenage

Director: Zach Ramelan

Photographer: Chris Young

Female Apparel: Ever New

Male Apparel: GotStyle

Milliner: David Dunkley Fine Millinery

Stylist: Nadia Pizzimenti

HMU: Michelle Silverstein

HMU Assistant: Ryan Brennan

Partner: Buffer Festival

TORONTO, April 6, 2019 – Canadian-bred three-year-old Avie’s Flatter, the early 2019 Queen’s Plate favourite, made his season’s debut a winning one in the $150,000 Kentucky Utilities Transylvania (Grade 3) on Friday at Keeneland.

Owned by Ivan Dalos and trained by Josie Carroll, Avie’s Flatter and jockey Javier Castellano held off the late-charging favourite Henley’s Joy to win the 1 1/16 mile stakes event in 1:42.86 on a firm turf.

“I really liked the way he did it today,” said Castellano in a post-race interview. “I’ll be honest, I’ve been studying the horse since last year. We rode against each other. I like the way he does everything. He can be on the lead, he can cover up. Today, he broke a little slow. I didn’t rush it… [Considering] the layoff and the way he performed today – very amazing.”

“We had some pretty solid works at Palm Meadows (training center in Florida),” noted Carroll. “I thought he was in good order, but I did say to Javier, ‘Keep him covered up a little bit and make sure you have some horse to finish because it has been a while since he ran.’

“It’s a pretty special horse. Mr. Dalos breeds a really good horse, and this horse we thought was special from the very beginning.”

Avie’s Flatter is the early favourite in Woodbine’s predictive Queen’s Plate Winterbook rankings as the son of Flatter out of the Empire Maker mare Avie’s Empire went three-for-four last year while racing at his home track with feats including the Cup and Saucer Stakes and Coronation Futurity.

Watch Avie’s Flatter’s winning sophomore debut below!

TORONTO, March 18, 2019 – The Washboard Union, who will headline the opening day of the Queen’s Plate Racing Festival this summer at Woodbine Racetrack, earned their first JUNO Award as Breakthrough Group of the Year this past weekend in London, Ont.

“Our hearts are literally exploding tonight as we won our first @thejunoawards for Breakthrough Group of the Year,” the group wrote in an Instagram post following the awards ceremony that celebrates the country’s biggest achievements in Canadian music. “We are blessed to have an army of passionate people behind us that make this life possible.”

Check out The Washboard Union’s exclusive performance of “Shot of Glory” live from KX96 New Country FM‘s kitchen last week when they announced their upcoming Queen’s Plate Racing Festival performance.

The Washboard Union will open this year’s Queen’s Plate Racing Festival at Woodbine Racetrack with a live performance on Friday, June 28. The 160th running of the $1 million Queen’s Plate will be contested on Saturday, June 29.  For more information or to purchase tickets to the Queen’s Plate Racing Festival, visit QueensPlate.com.

TORONTO, March 15, 2019 – The Washboard Union appeared on KX96 New Country FM earlier this week to discuss their upcoming Queen’s Plate performance, their new single “She Gets Me” and their JUNO Award nomination with morning show host Jerry Archer.

The Washboard Union will open this year’s Queen’s Plate Racing Festival at Woodbine Racetrack with a live performance on Friday, June 28. The 160th running of the $1 million Queen’s Plate will be contested on Saturday, June 29.  For more information or to purchase tickets to the Queen’s Plate Racing Festival, visit QueensPlate.com.