Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) announced Dan Loiselle, the recently retired ‘Voice of Canadian Horse Racing’, as the guest drawmaster for the 2017 edition of the $800,000 Ricoh Woodbine Mile.
The Ricoh Woodbine Mile post position draw will be held on Wednesday, September 13 at Woodbine Racetrack and Loiselle will be on hand to assist with the festivities. The media event will get underway at noon in the trackside tent and will be streamed live at WoodbineMile.com.
The longtime thoroughbred announcer at Woodbine Racetrack called the final race of his storied career on May 31, 2015 as Galina Point edged River Maid in the Lady Angela Stakes.
A native of Scarborough, Ontario, Loiselle got his start at Woodbine, formerly the Ontario Jockey Club, as an assistant race secretary in the Standardbred division and backup announcer on August 1, 1967.
After 17 years as the Standardbred announcer, on July 23, 1986, Loiselle took over from Thoroughbred race caller Daryl Wells launching a memorable career that included 28 editions of the Queen’s Plate as well as calling home five Triple Crown champions led by With Approval (1989), Izvestia (1990), Dance Smartly (1991), Peteski (1993) and Wando (2003.)
His call in the 2013 Ricoh Woodbine Mile is burned in the memory of racing fans worldwide.
“They arrive at the top of the stretch in the Ricoh Woodbine Mile and Johnny Velazquez gives the green light to Wise Dan and his response is instantaneous…Wise Dan, here he is, the titan of the turf, the sensational Wise Dan!” boomed Loiselle as the reigning U.S. Horse of the Year defended his Woodbine Mile title.
Since his retirement, Loiselle has continued to be honoured for his sensational body of work including being inducted into the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
The Ricoh Woodbine Mile will be held on Saturday, September 16, 2017 and will be broadcast live on TSN2.
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