Post by Peter Gross on Dec 10, 2009 6:22:41 GMT -5
Woodbine Entertainment Group is giving itself a big thumbs up for the completed thoroughbred racing season. While other racing jurisdictions were suffering drops in the betting as much as 12%, WEG is reporting a seven percent increase in handle. During the 167 day thoroughbred meet, $361,435,208 was bet from all sources – that’s almost $24 million more than last year. This was the first year that Woodbine was prominent in U.S.betting markets, thanks to a deal with TVG, the national racing channel. The final weekend of racing really punctuated the increased interest in the Woodbine product with more than $7,000,000 pounded through the mutuels on the last two cards of the year.
Jockey Patrick Husbands captured his third straight riding title with 188 wins, 49 more than runner-up Chantal Sutherland. There have been years when apprentice jockeys dominated at Woodbine, but not in 2009. The top 17 jockeys were all veterans. Bug boy Omar Moreno finished 18th with 22 victories.
Once again, Mark Casse was the leading trainer. He sent out the most horses – 453 – good for 71 wins and earnings of $4,804,929. It was another good season for Sid Attard who visited the winners circle 54 times, two more than Steve Asmussen (or whoever got their pictures taken when an Asmussen horse won.) Roger Attfield tied Asmussen with 52 wins and led all trainers with 14 Stakes scores. Attfield put up some awesome statistic, winning 42 times from 125 route races. (Note to self – bet Attfield in every distance race next year!). Attfield sent out 67 starters on the grass and 19 of them finished first for 28.4% win percentage (Second note to self – start betting Attfield on the lawn!).
Eugene Melnyk’s Stable was the most successful with 40 wins and $3,007,281 in the bank. Melnyk’s horses won nine Stakes races, including Marchfield in the Dominion Day Stakes on July 1st and Mullins Beachin the Ontario Damsel Stakes on July 6. The Tucci Stables won four of its last seven starts to grab second place with 25 wins, one more than the Bear Stables.
The classy Champs Elysees raced four times at Woodbine this year and with a win in the Pattison Canadian International, a second in the Sky Classic, and thirds in the Northern Dancer and Nijinsky Stakes, he was the leading money winning horse with $1,365,500. Eye of the Leopard’s Plate Trial and Queen’s Plate victories helped him to $733,340, good for second place. Two horses – Tribal Belle and Step On Up each won five times this year.
And it was a bookend kind of year for Chantal Sutherland. She rode the first winner on April 1, as Flashy N Classy scored for trainer Ann Cameron. And Sutherland was good to the very last drop, winning the 13th and final race on December 6 with Poppin, a three year-old filly trained by Steve Asmussen.
175 horses raced at least once this year at Woodbine, but only one of those never tasted defeat. The two year-old gelding Hollinger went a nifty 4 for 4 for owners Bob Harvey and Al Wortzman. Trainer by Roger Attfield, the son of Black Minnaloushe didn’t even run until the last week of August when he dusted a maiden special weight field at six furlongs. Five weeks later, Hollinger won in allowance company by two and change at a mile and 70 yards. In his first added money challenge, he thumped eight opponents in the $250,000 Cup and Saucer at a mile and a sixteenth and he completed his flawless year with a gusty half length win through traffic in the nine furlong $250,000 Coronation Stakes. Hollinger is a sure bet for two year-old colt or gelding or the year and considering that no older horse really dominated in 2009, Hollinger could stroll away with the Sovereign Award as Horse of the Year.
Jockeys: Starts 1st 2nd 3rd Earnings Stakes wins
Patrick Husbands 972 188 161 147 $10,827,171 20
Chantal Sutherland 981 139 123 146 7,588,868 12
Eurico Rosa da Silva 702 123 107 84 7,239,925 16
Emile Ramsammy 898 121 112 106 5,620,330 6
James McAleney 663 119 85 84 6,209,225 13
Emma-Jayne Wilson 936 110 139 122 6,070,715 7
Tyler Pizarro 623 90 94 81 4,932,331 9
Justin Stein 706 71 76 63 2,974,430 0
Luis Contreras 376 67 58 48 2,855,681 2
Todd Kabel 405 59 41 40 3,139,798 4
Corey Fraser 434 46 60 52 2,499,698 1
Robert Landry 427 44 44 53 2,849,122 4
Jono Jones 447 36 46 65 2,947,925 5
Gerry Olguin 448 36 44 47 2,134,423 3
Slade Callaghan 442 34 36 38 2,014,034 3
Richard Dos Ramos 298 34 30 41 2,021,216 4
Steven Bahen 513 33 52 46 1,674,569 0
Trainers: Starts 1st 2nd 3rd Earnings Stakes
Mark Casse 453 71 66 68 $4,804,929 8
Sid Attard 292 54 40 40 2,903,984 6
Roger Attfield 200 52 26 25 3,663,504 14
Steven Asmussen 282 52 43 36 1,951,996 0
Robert Tiller 337 49 54 54 2,400,443 2
Reade Baker 319 47 44 44 2,773,671 6
Nicholas Gonzalez 280 43 38 33 2,048,027 2
Scott Fairlie 305 42 42 46 2,293,518 3
Terry Jordan 94 42 10 14 1,666,776 7
Malcolm Pierce 191 39 22 25 3,030,525 13
Owners: Starts 1st 2nd 3rd Earnings Stakes
Melnyk Stables 158 40 32 21 $3,007,281 9
Tucci Stables 123 25 17 19 1,212,671 2
Bear Stables 135 24 26 19 1,573,569 5
Stronach Stables 107 21 24 11 1,289,203 1
C.E.C. Farms 103 17 11 1 1,206,809 2
