The best of 2019 in Canadian horse racing will be celebrated on the evening of Tuesday May 19. The 45th annual Sovereign Awards, presented by the Jockey Club of Canada, will be held virtually in an on-line broadcast beginning at 8 p.m.

Get on Facetime or Zoom and watch the show with friends!

CANADIAN THOROUGHBRED, now on-line, congratulates finalists DAVE BRIGGS and HAYLEY MORRISON who have stories in the Writing Category that appeared in Canada’s longest-serving Canadian Thoroughbred publication.

Link to watch the Sovereign Awards HERE.

The Sovereign Awards ceremony was originally scheduled for April 16, two days before the scheduled beginning of the 2020 Woodbine racing season, but the deadly COVID-19 pandemic has postponed or cancelled most events and turned the world upside down.

So, instead of donning your best dress or suit and heading off to a lavish gala, we will watch on the computer and celebrate as the winners are announced by host Jason Portuondo. It is unclear how many computers will be in attendance.

Download the beautiful 68-page program here .

WHO ARE YOUR PICKS?   AWARDS IN ORDER OF PRESENTATION – 8 p.m. May 19

2019 Finalists – Listed in alphabetical order, the finalists are:

Photograph Category:

*The judging for the 2019 Media Awards was performed by Professors of the Journalism Program at the School of Media Studies & Information Technology, Humber Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, Toronto, Ontario.

Writing Category:

Dave Briggs for Canadian ThoroughbredRoyal Victory for the Quintessential “small guy”
Chris Lomon for Ontario Racig – Thoroughbred Racing’s Beautiful Bond
Hayley Morrison for Canadian ThoroughbredWalcott Worry-Free After Surviving Brain Tumour

Digital Audio/visual and Broadcast Category:

Horse Racing Alberta – Canadian Derby Invader
Horse Racing Radio Network – 160th Queen’s Plate
Woodbine Entertainment Group – The Queen’s Plate

OUTSTANDING GROOM – Michael ‘Fuzzy’ Williams

OUTSTANDING HANDICAPPER –  Paul Shurman

SPECIAL SOVEREIGN AWARD – Harvey Warner

Outstanding Broodmare:

Avie’s Empire
Cumulonimble
Loving Vindication

Outstanding Apprentice Jockey:

Shavon Belle
Daisuke Fukumoto
Kazushi Kimura

Champion Older Main Track Male:

Mr Ritz
Pink Lloyd
Special Forces

Champion Older Main Track Female:

Here’s Hannah
Lift Up
She’s the Berries

Outstanding Trainer:

Kevin Attard
Mark E. Casse
Norman McKnight

Champion Male Turf Horse:

El Tormenta
Global Access
Tiz a Slam

Champion Female Turf Horse:

Amalfi Coast
Holy Helena
Starship Jubilee

Outstanding Breeder:

Chiefswood Stables Limited
Sam-Son Farm
Tall Oaks Farm

Champion Two-Year-Old Male:

Dotted Line
Mr. Hustle
Muskoka Gold

Champion Two-Year-Old Female:

Curlin’s Voyage
Infinite Patience
Owlette

Outstanding Jockey:

Eurico Rosa Da Silva
Rafael Manuel Hernandez
Patrick Husbands

Champion Male Sprinter:

Pink Lloyd
Silent Poet
Yorkton

Champion Female Sprinter:

Amalfi Coast
Here’s Hannah
Sister Peacock
Summer Sunday

Outstanding Owner:

Chiefswood Stables Limited
Sam-Son Farm
Stronach Stables

SPECIAL SOVEREIGN AWARD – Charles Fipke

Champion Three-Year-Old Male:

Explode
Global Access
Tone Broke

Champion Three-Year-Old Female:

Amalfi Coast
Desert Ride
Hidden Grace

HORSE OF THE YEAR – 3 Finalists to be announced on the broadcast.