The Jockey Club of Canada will host their 37th Annual Sovereign Awards Ceremony to honour the Canadian Champions of 2011, on Thursday, April 5, 2012, on the third floor of Woodbine Race Track in Toronto. Woodbine Entertainment Group will join in the celebration as they get ready to kick-off their 2012 Live Thoroughbred meet on Friday, April 6, a date which represents the start of thoroughbred racing in Canada.
This elegant cocktail-attire celebration will include a welcome back reception, a buffet-style gourmet dinner, and magical entertainment along with the evening’s feature event, the presentation of the Sovereign Award Trophies to Canada’s Racing Champions of 2011 and Canada’s Horse of the Year.
Tickets are each $250 plus applicable taxes (tables of 10 are $2500) and must be reserved in advance by contacting The Jockey Club of Canada at 416-675-7756 or email: jockeyclub@bellnet.ca
In an effort to promote equal opportunity in determining the winners of the 17 race award categories, the voting began January 1, 2012, allowing for statistics for the entire year to be considered. The finalists and eventual winner were determined using a computerized points system based on each voter’s first, second and third choice in each category.
The 2011 Sovereign Award Finalists, listed alphabetically in each category, are:
Champion Two-Year-Old Filly:
Hard Not to Like
Northern Passion
Tu Endie Wei
Champion Two-Year-Old Male:
Excaper
Maritimer
Prospective
Champion Three-Year-Old Filly:
Inglorious
Marketing Mix
Smart Sting
Champion Three-Year-Old Male:
Freedoms Traveller
Moonshine Mullin
Pender Harbour
Champion Older Female:
Ariana D
Embur’s Song
Stars to Shine
Champion Older Male:
Don Cavallo
Fifty Proof
James Street
Champion Turf Female:
Marketing Mix
Miss Keller (IRE)
Never Retreat
Champion Turf Male:
Musketier (GER)
Pender Harbour
Stormy Lord
Champion Female Sprinter:
Atlantic Hurricane
Classic Alley Kat
Embur’s Song
Champion Male Sprinter:
Essence Hit Man
Gypsy Ring
Signature Red
Outstanding Broodmare:
Embur Sunshine
Noble Strike
Rahy’s Hope
The three finalists for Horse of the Year honours will be announced on the evening of the awards ceremony.
Outstanding Breeder:
Adena Springs
Arosa Farms
Gardiner Farms Ltd.
Outstanding Owner: (There was a tie in one of the top three finalists positions)
Bear Stables Ltd.
Donver Stable
Melnyk Racing Stables Inc.
Glen Todd and Patrick Kinsella
Outstanding Trainer:
Roger Attfield
Reade Baker
Mark Casse
Outstanding Apprentice Jockey:
Ryan Pacheco
Betty-Jo Williams
Scott Williams
Outstanding Jockey:
Luis Contreras
Patrick Husbands
Emma-Jayne Wilson
Media Award Categories
The judging for the 2011 media categories was performed by the Journalism Professors at Humber, School of Media Studies & Information Technology, in Toronto, Ontario.
Outstanding Newspaper Story:
Allan Besson, Hard work no problem, mon, Published in the Winnipeg Free Press, August 26, 2011
Keith McCalmont, Emma’s great Excaper, Published on Woodbineentertainment.com, November 2, 2011
Beverley Smith, Rahy’s Attorney goes out as a contender, Published in the Globe and Mail and theglobeandmail.com, August 16, 2011
Outstanding Feature Story:
Peter Gross, Fern Chretien’s Stretch Drive, Published in Down the Stretch, April 2011
Jennifer Morrison, Glorification, Published in Canadian Thoroughbred, August/September 2011
Beverley Smith, Training Daze and Casse Ready (Two-part Series), Published in the Globe and Mail and theglobeandmail.com, September 14 and October 1, 2011
Outstanding Photograph:
David J. Landry, Filly Wins! Oaks and Plate, Published in Canadian Thoroughbred August/September 2011
Janis Maine, Stallion at Attention, Published on canadianthoroughbred.com/thoroughblog, October 23, 2011,
Erika Rusnak, Bunny, Published on canadianthoroughbred.com/thoroughblog, May 12, 2011
Outstanding Film/Video/Broadcast:
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame, Celebrating Northern Dancer’s 50th Birthday. Broadcast on Score Television Network, September 18, 2011
Horse Racing Alberta & Whiteiron Productions, 2011 Canadian Derby. Broadcast on Canadian Television Network, August 20, 2011 Sport of Kings. Broadcast on Shaw TV, October 7, 2011
The Jockey Club of Canada was founded in 1973 by E.P. Taylor to serve as the international representative of the Canadian Thoroughbred industry and to promote improvements to Thoroughbred racing and breeding, both in Canada and internationally. The Jockey Club of Canada also operates as a field office of The Jockey Club (New York); organizes the Sovereign Awards; administers the Canadian Graded Stakes program; liaises with foreign Jockey Clubs; promotes Thoroughbred ownership; and represents Canada at international racing conferences.
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