The Woodbine Training Track will open for business on the morning of Sunday, February 12, weather permitting, a clear indication that the start of the local 2012 Thoroughbred racing season is drawing closer.
The training track hours run from 7:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. and the sand ring from 6:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., as local horsemen prepare for the start of this year’s Thoroughbred campaign, which gets out of the gates on Friday, April 6.
Trainer Mike Doyle, who finished tied for 10th in the standings last year with 30 wins, is currently in south Florida, but will have 40 horses shipping in on Saturday morning.
The veteran conditioner will hand the reins to his assistant, Brent Harris, for handling of the horses, as they take to the backstretch training track, which is a conventional dirt surface, as opposed to the Polytrack surface used for racing.
“I am 100 per cent looking forward to having the horses back at Woodbine,” said Doyle, who won two stakes races at the Toronto oval in 2011, with Dancing Raven taking the Ballade and Amiable Grace scoring in the Sweet Briar Too. “It’s always an exciting time of the year, to get everything geared up for the start of a new season.”
Heading into 2012, Doyle has 925 career wins, 107 stakes scores, 12 of which are graded.
The 167-day racing schedule runs until Sunday, December 16.
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