Woodbine Set For Opening Weekend

Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto will begin its 56th season of Thoroughbred racing this weekend, with two 10-race cards on Saturday and Sunday. First-race post time for both Saturday and Sunday is set for 1:00 p.m.

Saturday's card is highlighted by the first stakes race of the season, the $100,000 Debut Stakes for four-year-olds and up. The 5-2 morning line favourite for the Debut is Don's Folly, trained by Ian Black and ridden by Emma-Jayne Wilson, who recently won the Grade III Pan American at Gulfstream with local fan favourite, Rahy's Attorney.

The 167-day meet, beginning tomorrow, will run until December 4th.

Steve Lym, Woodbine's Director of Racing and Racing Secretary, is expecting another strong meet in 2011, especially early in the season.

"There are plenty of horses on the grounds and the work tab has been especially busy this spring, so I, optimistically, expect solid field size early in the meet," said Lym. "We expect International interest in our program to remain high, including major awareness from American trainers."

Wesley Ward, a prominent U.S. trainer, has six horses entered for the Opening Day program.

Trainer Mark Casse will be going for his fifth straight Woodbine title in 2011 after years with 85, 75, 71 and 86 wins. He'll be seeking the record for most wins in a Woodbine meet, set by the late Frank Passero in 1995 with 89 victories.

To view the entries for Opening Weekend, click the dates below.

Saturday, April 2nd
Sunday, April 3rd

At The Post will have you covered throughout the entire 2011 season. Along with entries and results for every racecard in 2011, At The Post will feature Jockey and Trainer standings and will keep you posted on the latest from Woodbine with daily reports and weekly recaps. You can have all of this news delivered straight to your e-mail inbox by signing up for our free e-mail subscription. We're looking forward to following the 2011 Woodbine season with you!

Posted in: Woodbine