The entries for the first card of racing of the 2023 Woodbine Thoroughbred season are due out Wednesday afternoon, April 19, and there is no better time to get out some fun trivia and facts.
The first race of a new season of racing after it has been closed for an extended period of time attracts a lot of excited bettors. Thus, the favourite will often be overbet. These include winter-raced horses who have shown speed in slightly longer sprints or invaders for US trainers seeking short dashes on the Tapeta.
However, overbet or not, the first or second favourites in the first race of a new Woodbine season have won 15 times in the last 25 years. Plus, the majority of the last 10 winners of the first race of the year were locally trained during the winter.