Prince of Wales Stakes may feature 6 Queen’s Plate entries
Fans of thoroughbred racing in Canada could know as early as Friday if the Triple Crown drought will continue for another year.
While the 85th running of the Prince of Wales Stakes won’t be taking place until next Tuesday, whether Queen’s Plate winner Mighty Heart will be part of the field for the $400,000 race will be determined at the postposition draw.
Trainer Josie Carroll has chosen to keep the horse on the nomination list.
“However, we will not know until the Prince of Wales draw on Friday if the horse will be entered in the race,” Antonietta Culic, Fort Erie’s manager of marketing and media relations, said.
Nine three-year-olds foaled in
Canada were entered by the nomination deadline, including six that competed in the first leg of the Triple Crown.
Along with Mighty Heart, Queen’s Plate also-rans Tecumseh’s War, Clayton, Dotted Line, Truebelieve and Halo Again have been nominated, as have Bold Victory, Muskoka Giant and Enchant Me.
Canada hasn’t had a Triple Crown winner since Wando turned the trick in 2003.
In all, 12 horses have swept all three races since Queensway was the first Triple Crown winner in 1932.
Starting positions for the race, which is 1 3⁄16 miles over dirt will be determined in a draw that will be livestreamed online beginning at noon Friday.
Fort Erie’s signature race, the Prince of Wales Stakes, is bookended by the Queen’s Plate and the final leg in the Triple Crown, the Breeders’ Stakes, both held at Woodbine in Toronto. The Triple Crown wraps up Oct. 24, with the Breeders’ Stakes.
Unlike the Triple Crown in the United States — the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes — which are all contested on dirt, Canada’s triple crown is run on different racing surfaces: Queen’s Plate, 1 1⁄4 mile, Tapeta; Prince of Wales, 1 3⁄16 mile, dirt; Breeders’ Stakes, 1 1⁄2 mile, turf.
As has been the case since the Ontario government permitted horse racing under COVID-19 restrictions, the Prince of Wales Stakes will be run without spectators. Initially, only personnel essential to racing and the wellbeing of the horses were permitted at the track on race days. That was expanded to include horse owners and trainers under Stage 3 of the province’s COVID-19 reopening strategy.
While the pandemic hasn’t had much impact on the number of training days or the “nature of training itself,” Culic said, far more safety precautions are in place. Everyone except those who are galloping or breezing a horse and everyone on the backstretch is required to wear a mask.
“Physical distancing is enforced and we continue to limit those in our backstretch to essential personnel only,” Culic said.
High-definition livestreams of racing action at Fort Erie are available at http://forterieracing.com/streaming-and-replays. Online wagering in Ontario is available through Hpibet.com.
It has been estimated that as much as 80 per cent of revenue at the Fort Erie track comes from wagering, with most of those bets made offsite.