TORONTO, January 14, 2026– Woodbine Entertainment released a video last week celebrating the standout moments from Woodbine Racetrack’s 2025 Thoroughbred racing season. The 10-minute feature revisits the defining races, performances, and personal stories that shaped the year, as told through the voices of Woodbine race announcer Robert Geller, hosts Jeff Bratt, Alanna Nolan, and Mark McKelvie, and writer Chris Lomon. Watch it on YouTube here. The 127-day meet that spanned from April to December was highlighted by the 166th edition of the iconic, $1 million King’s Plate, contested on August 16. Mansetti delivered champion trainer Kevin Attard his third Plate victory, while giving owners Al and Bill Ulwelling and jockey Pietro Moran their cherished first Plate wins. The 2025 King’s Plate card generated over $17 million in all-sources wagering, the third highest in event history, and Woodbine’s biggest wagering day of the year. Pietro and his father, fellow jockey David Moran, made headlines as the first father-son duo to compete against each other in Canada’s most famous horse race. Pietro’s brother, Will, served as the outrider who escorted him to the winner’s circle. “There aren’t a lot of sports over the course of history where you see a father and son compete at the highest level, so it was really something cool,” said Mark McKelvie in 2025 Woodbine Year in Review. David and Pietro Moran with the King’s Plate trophy (Michael Burns Photo) Still an apprentice, Pietro battled Rafael Hernandez, a longtime member of the Woodbine jockey colony, for the track’s leading rider title. Hernandez ultimately claimed the title with 148 wins, ahead of Moran, who finished with 139 and is a finalist for this year’s Outstanding Apprentice Jockey Eclipse Award. “It’s that consistency from Rafael with over 20 stakes wins this season. The next closest was six,” Alanna Nolan noted in 2025 Woodbine Year in Review. “Talk about a dominant competitor and someone who is consistent in his craft.” The E.P. Taylor Stakes, the newest addition to Woodbine’s four Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series “Win and You’re In” races, was also held on Plate day. The winner, She Feels Pretty, went on to finish second in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) and is a finalist for the Eclipse Award for Female Turf Horse of the Year. Another finalist for an Eclipse Award is Notable Speech (GB), winner of the $1 million Rogers Woodbine Mile (G1) and subsequent winner of the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) at Del Mar. The Woodbine Mile (G1) was accompanied by the Johnnie Walker Natalma (G1) and bet365 Summer Stakes (G1) on Woodbine’s Turf Champions Day on September 16. All three Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series races were run on the bet365 Inner Turf due to ongoing renovation of the world-renowned E.P. Taylor turf course. An all-sources handle of $13,026,804 ranks the 2025 edition among the top five Woodbine Mile Day handles. The season’s marquee events continued on October 4 with the $750,000 Canadian International (G1), where Silawi (IRE) scored a 10-1 upset over a world-class field that included 2023 winner Nation’s Pride (IRE). Silawi and jockey Faleh Bughenaim winning the Canadian International on October 4, 2025 at Woodbine (Michael Burns Photo) “Woodbine is really a magnet for international horses,” Robert Geller said in 2025 Woodbine Year in Review. “We really are the forerunner in many ways for attracting English, Irish, French, and South African horses to come and try their luck here [in North America]” he added. The Year in Review also celebrates the inspiring comeback of champion jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson. After suffering severe injuries late in 2024, Wilson returned to racing in June following months of rehabilitation, only to be sidelined again by a broken collarbone in July. She made her return in November, punctuating it with a victory in the Clarendon Stakes that month. “I think Emma-Jayne should get a tattoo with the word resilience written on it because she just gets knocked down and keeps getting back up,” Jeff Bratt shared in 2025 Woodbine Year in Review. Emma-Jayne Wilson’s comeback is also featured in the first episode of Woodbine’s award-winning docuseries Free Rein, which returns for Season 3 on January 30, 2026 on YouTube. Woodbine’s 2025 Thoroughbred season combined elite racing with unforgettable human stories and a powerful global presence, all covered in the 2025 Woodbine Year in Review. Share This:Share
