In the 1950s, the fresh OJC, in management out of Canadian industrialist and you will pony breeder E

They fell the brand new in the 1963

Woodbine Racetrack are a race-track for Thoroughbred horse race in the the latest Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Category, Woodbine Racetrack manages and you can computers Canada’s most well-known race, the brand new King’s Plate. The latest tune was launched in the 1956 with a one-mile oval mud song, together with an effective seven-eights yard movement. [ 1 ] This has been extensively remodeled as the 1993, and since 1994 has already established around three racecourses. [ 2 ]

Background

The current Woodbine deal the name to begin with utilized by good racetrack and this operated inside the southern part of Toronto, during the Queen Roadway East and you may Kingston Highway, of 1874 owing to 1993. (Since the Old Woodbine Race course was at the new southern area stop away from Woodbine Opportunity, the current Woodbine is actually nowhere near it.) Inside the 1951, it had been operate because of the Ontario Jockey Bar (OJC) and you may held the fresh new prestigious King’s Dish, however it competed with quite a few most other racetracks during the Ontario and you can try searching for modernization. [ 12 ]

P. Taylor, first started an application of racetrack acquisitions aimed at becoming the biggest and more than winning operator inside Ontario pony rushing, the same as Taylor’s earlier purchases and you may consolidations in the Canadian brewing national lottery casino online community. In the 1952, the new OJC bought and you can signed the cash-losing Thorncliffe Playground, [ 4 ] ordered and you will finalized the new Hamilton Racetrack, and you may bought the newest Fort Erie Racetrack having California$780,000 . [ four ] Renovations first started instantly within Fort Erie as well as Woodbine, financed by the a general public giving off inventory having California$2 billion . [ 12 ]

Inside the 1953, the new OJC ordered Stamford Park in the Stamford township (today part of Niagara Falls, Ontario). It was finalized and soon after redeveloped into the a domestic subdivision. During the 1955, Taylor themselves bought the new contending Orpen-had Dufferin Playground Racetrack and you will Much time Branch Racetracks getting Ca$4 million ($forty two.six million inside the 2023 bucks) [ 5 ] . [ 6 ] The newest Orpen music have been closed and you will redeveloped, and the Orpen battle charters gone to live in the newest OJC. The latest OJC went on the new Canadian Around the world and you will Cup and saucer bet racing that were kept during the Orpen songs. [ seven ] The newest racing charters obtained regarding almost every other music allowed the latest OJC to perform 196 days of race, more than twice their invited overall off 84 months inside 1952. [ twenty three ]

All the operate within racetrack purchases and you will closures was basically tailored to support a different sort of “supertrack”. Inside the 1952, the brand new OJC recognized the new location of the racetrack within Street 27 eastern of your Toronto airport and you may ordered more than 400 miles (160 ha). The newest architect picked try Earle C. Morgan. Even if Morgan hadn’t tailored an effective racetrack, the guy spent the next 2 yrs development the form together that have Arthur Froelich, who had designed Movie industry Playground Racetrack and you can Backyard Condition Park Racetrack in america. [ 8 ] The fresh new song was created to keep forty,000 visitors, have big vehicle parking, around three race programs as well as 2 knowledge tunes. It had secure room for 1,000 ponies and you will room for 700 professionals. The fresh grandstand, built to rating as many folks as near to the find yourself line as you are able to, incorporated several dining and cafeterias. [ nine ] Construction to your the latest supertrack first started inside the 1955.

The brand new racetrack launched on the June 12, 1956, dependent at a high price off California$13 mil ($143 million during the 2023 cash). [ 5 ] [ ten ] It had been first referred to as The fresh new Woodbine Racetrack. The old tune try transformed into a combined thoroughbred and you can standardbred song known after that since the Old Woodbine or, for almost all of one’s remainder of the history, because the Greenwood Raceway (throughout standardbred fits) and you can Greenwood Race track (through the thoroughbred match). The 2 thoroughbred and two standardbred match presented at the Greenwood have been transferred to the brand new Woodbine during the 1994, which was until then exclusively devoted to thoroughbred rushing. To your Summer 30, 1959, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke away from Edinburgh went to the new 100th running of Queen’s Dish, [ eleven ] and you can Queen Age II once more to the , attended the brand new 151st running of the Queen’s Dish Bet and you can showed trophies.