It decrease the new inside the 1963
Woodbine Racetrack was a race track to have Thoroughbred pony race within the the new Etobicoke Magic Wins online casino section of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Amusement Classification, Woodbine Racetrack protects and you can machines Canada’s most well-known competition, the fresh new King’s Dish. The brand new tune try unsealed within the 1956 that have a single-mile egg-shaped dirt track, and a great 7-eights grass path. [ 1 ] It has been widely renovated while the 1993, and since 1994 has had around three racecourses. [ 2 ]
Background
The present day Woodbine carries title to begin with used by a good racetrack which run inside the the southern part of Toronto, from the King Street East and Kingston Road, regarding 1874 as a consequence of 1993. (While the Dated Woodbine Race course is at the new southern avoid off Woodbine Avenue, the present day Woodbine try nowhere close it.) In the 1951, it actually was operated from the Ontario Jockey Pub (OJC) and you may stored the fresh prestigious King’s Plate, it competed with many other racetracks inside Ontario and try looking for modernization. [ 12 ]
P. Taylor, first started an application out of racetrack purchases aimed at getting the biggest and most profitable operator for the Ontario pony racing, like Taylor’s before purchases and you may consolidations in the Canadian making globe. Inside the 1952, the brand new OJC bought and you may closed the cash-losing Thorncliffe Playground, [ 4 ] bought and you may signed the newest Hamilton Racetrack, and purchased the fresh new Fort Erie Racetrack getting California$780,000 . [ 4 ] Renovations began instantaneously at the Fort Erie and also at Woodbine, funded because of the a general public offering of inventory for California$2 mil . [ twenty-three ]
In the 1953, the new OJC bought Stamford Playground inside the Stamford township (today element of Niagara Drops, Ontario). It absolutely was closed and later redeveloped to your a residential subdivision. Within the 1955, Taylor themselves ordered the fresh new contending Orpen-owned Dufferin Park Racetrack and you may Long Branch Racetracks for Ca$4 million ($49.6 million inside 2023 dollars) [ 5 ] . [ 6 ] The fresh Orpen tunes was finalized and you will redeveloped, plus the Orpen battle charters transferred to the newest OJC. The latest OJC continued the new Canadian Global and you can Cup-and-saucer limits races that had been held at the Orpen music. [ seven ] The newest race charters acquired regarding other music allowed the latest OJC to operate 196 times of racing, over double their invited overall away from 84 days within the 1952. [ twenty-three ]
All of the services during the racetrack acquisitions and you may closures was in fact customized to help with a different “supertrack”. In the 1952, the fresh new OJC recognized the latest located area of the racetrack in the Street twenty seven eastern of one’s Toronto airport and you will purchased more than eight hundred miles (160 ha). The new architect chosen was Earle C. Morgan. Although Morgan had not designed an effective racetrack, the guy invested the second 24 months development the shape hand in hand with Arthur Froelich, who’d customized Movie industry Park Racetrack and you can Lawn State Park Racetrack in the usa. [ 8 ] The fresh new song was designed to hold forty,000 spectators, possess ample vehicle parking, about three competition programmes as well as 2 degree songs. It got secure area for starters,000 ponies and you can bed room to possess 700 personnel. The fresh new grandstand, made to rating as many individuals as near for the finish line you could, integrated numerous restaurants and you will cafeterias. [ 9 ] Structure to the the brand new supertrack began within the 1955.
The fresh new racetrack open towards June several, 1956, depending at a cost away from Ca$thirteen mil ($143 mil inside 2023 bucks). [ 5 ] [ ten ] It was very first known as the The newest Woodbine Racetrack. The outdated track are changed into a blended thoroughbred and standardbred song identified after that because the Dated Woodbine or, for some of one’s rest of the background, since Greenwood Raceway (while in the standardbred suits) and you can Greenwood Race-track (throughout thoroughbred meets). The 2 thoroughbred as well as 2 standardbred match held during the Greenwood were relocated to the brand new Woodbine during the 1994, which had been before this entirely centered on thoroughbred rushing. To your June thirty, 1959, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh attended the fresh 100th powering of your Queen’s Dish, [ 11 ] and you will Queen Age II again for the , attended the fresh new 151st powering of your own Queen’s Dish Stakes and exhibited trophies.
