Woodbine, pounded by heavy rain that first resulted in its scheduled turf races being moved to its Tapeta principal monitor, canceled racing for its King’s Plate card after the fifth race Aug. 17.
Officers mentioned the cancellation was made within the curiosity of horse security and attributable to unsafe monitor circumstances. Monitor announcer Robert Geller introduced King’s Plate can be rescheduled, however no date was instantly given. Monitor officers later confirmed the rescheduling, stating in a launch {that a} new date can be made public as quickly as potential on its web site and social media platforms.
The brand new date is anticipated to be Friday, Aug. 23, in line with a person with information of preliminary monitor planning. That date would keep away from weekend conflicts with different main stakes races, such because the loaded stakes card on Travers Stakes Day, Aug. 24, at Saratoga Race Course.
Woodbine mentioned the choice to cancel was made after session with the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protecting Affiliation, jockeys, and veterinarians.
The Tapeta floor at Woodbine appeared to face up to the preliminary downpours of the day earlier than the monitor later scrapped racing. The sixth race, had it gone off, would have been run about an hour and a half after its scheduled submit. Lightning and heavy rain had brought about climate delays earlier within the day.
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— Byron King (@BH_BKing) August 17, 2024
The sixth-race horses have been within the paddock, after which unsaddled moments earlier than the cancellation announcement was made.
Not one of the 5 stakes races on the day had been contested, which was to be topped by the CA$1 million King’s Plate Stakes, the primary leg of the Canadian Triple Crown and the oldest constantly run stakes race in North America. It was not instantly clear whether or not a postponement of the Plate would alter the schedule for the opposite races within the sequence, which had been deliberate to proceed with the Sept. 10 Prince of Wales Stakes at 1 3/16 miles on dust at Fort Erie and the Sept. 29 Breeders’ Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on turf at Woodbine.
Tapeta drains otherwise than dust tracks and may usually deal with regular rain however the quantity of precipitation Saturday apparently proved an excessive amount of, as decided by Woodbine officers. Different areas of the monitor, equivalent to the realm between the Tapeta principal monitor and the inside turf course, confirmed puddles of standing water. A video posted on social media of the tunnel utilized by horses to go from the paddock to the racetrack additionally confirmed standing water.
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