They fell the new during the 1963

Woodbine Racetrack try a race track having Thoroughbred pony race within the the newest Etobicoke section of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Activities riobet Class, Woodbine Racetrack handles and servers Canada’s most well-known battle, the latest King’s Dish. The fresh track is actually started in the 1956 with a-one-distance oval mud track, as well as an effective eight-eights grass path. [ 1 ] It’s been generally renovated because 1993, and since 1994 has received three racecourses. [ 2 ]

Record

The present day Woodbine offers the name in the first place utilized by a racetrack and therefore operate for the the southern part of Toronto, from the Queen Street East and you can Kingston Road, from 1874 due to 1993. (Since Old Woodbine Race-course is at the fresh southern area end regarding Woodbine Path, the modern Woodbine are nowhere close they.) Inside the 1951, it was operate of the Ontario Jockey Pub (OJC) and you will stored the latest prestigious King’s Dish, but it competed with many almost every other racetracks in the Ontario and you may are trying to find modernization. [ 12 ]

P. Taylor, first started an application regarding racetrack purchases intended for as the biggest and most effective user inside Ontario pony race, like Taylor’s earlier acquisitions and you will consolidations on Canadian making world. During the 1952, the fresh OJC ordered and signed the money-dropping Thorncliffe Park, [ 4 ] purchased and you can closed the fresh Hamilton Racetrack, and you may ordered the brand new Fort Erie Racetrack to possess California$780,000 . [ 4 ] Renovations began instantaneously at the Fort Erie as well as Woodbine, financed by the a public providing from inventory for Ca$2 billion . [ twenty three ]

During the 1953, the newest OJC purchased Stamford Park for the Stamford township (now element of Niagara Drops, Ontario). It absolutely was signed and soon after redeveloped for the a residential subdivision. Within the 1955, Taylor himself ordered the fresh new competing Orpen-had Dufferin Playground Racetrack and you will Much time Department Racetracks to have Ca$four billion ($forty-two.six million within the 2023 bucks) [ 5 ] . [ 6 ] The fresh Orpen tracks have been closed and you will redeveloped, as well as the Orpen race charters relocated to the fresh OJC. The fresh new OJC proceeded the new Canadian Worldwide and you can Cup-and-saucer stakes racing that had been kept in the Orpen tunes. [ eight ] The fresh race charters gotten from the almost every other tracks let the brand new OJC to operate 196 times of rushing, over twice their allowed full away from 84 days inside the 1952. [ twenty-three ]

Most of the perform at racetrack acquisitions and you may closures was in fact designed to support a different sort of “supertrack”. For the 1952, the new OJC understood the newest precise location of the racetrack in the Highway twenty seven eastern of the Toronto airport and you can ordered over eight hundred miles (160 ha). The newest designer chosen is actually Earle C. Morgan. Whether or not Morgan hadn’t customized an excellent racetrack, the guy invested the second two years development the shape hand-in-hand that have Arthur Froelich, that has customized Hollywood Playground Racetrack and Garden County Playground Racetrack in the usa. [ 8 ] The latest tune was created to keep 40,000 visitors, have big vehicle parking, around three battle programs and two education music. It got stable space for 1,000 horses and you may bed room to have 700 staff. The fresh grandstand, designed to get as many folks as close into the wind up range that you can, provided multiple dinner and you can cafeterias. [ nine ] Structure on the the latest supertrack first started for the 1955.

The latest racetrack exposed to your Summer a dozen, 1956, centered at a cost of Ca$thirteen million ($143 billion inside 2023 bucks). [ 5 ] [ 10 ] It actually was 1st referred to as The fresh Woodbine Racetrack. The existing track try transformed into a mixed thoroughbred and you will standardbred tune identified afterwards since the Old Woodbine otherwise, for most of one’s remainder of its records, since Greenwood Raceway (throughout the standardbred meets) and you can Greenwood Race track (during the thoroughbred fits). The two thoroughbred as well as 2 standardbred match used at the Greenwood had been transferred to the fresh new Woodbine inside 1994, that was before this exclusively devoted to thoroughbred racing. To your June thirty, 1959, King Elizabeth II and the Duke away from Edinburgh attended the brand new 100th running of your own Queen’s Plate, [ eleven ] and Queen Age II once again to your , went to the newest 151st powering of one’s Queen’s Plate Stakes and you may demonstrated trophies.