The Ontario-bred filly RHAENRYA (Reload) was the first horse to have a timed workout on the Woodbine training track for 2025, one of 17 horses to make time on March 19. Rhaenrya is from the powerful Kevin Attard stable which figures to be among the leading barns by wins and purses once again this year. Attard is up for a Sovereign Award for Outstanding Trainer on April 24, two days before the Woodbine season is scheduled to begin, April 26.
This will be the 70th Woodbine racing season since the Etobicoke track opened in 1956. The first Woodbine (Old Woodbine) was located in the east end of Toronto before it closed in 1993.
It seems as if each spring in the last decade has offered a bit of uncertainty for Ontario racing on top of anticipation of a new racing season.
This year is no different.
In 2013, the slot machines kept humming at Woodbine and other tracks in the province but a share of the income was no longer going to the track that made the concessions to house them in the first place. Woodbine Entertainment’s CEO at the time, Nick Eaves, wasn’t sure racing in Ontario could continue.
In 2020, the pandemic, COVID-19, blasted its way through the world, putting a halt to everything. Racing did not begin in April, or May, but incredibly was able to start up in June as it was regarded as an essential industry. Woodbine’s CEO Jim Lawson, plus the HBPA’s Sue Leslie and the Ontario Racing organization worked hard to get racing back. It was somewhat the same scenario in 2021.
As 2025’s Ontario horse racing season is getting ready to open up, the sport finds itself facing dragons to slay once again.
The current two-year contract between Woodbine Entertainment and its horsepeople represented by the HBPA expires on March 31. The two groups are seemingly close to working out racing dates, purses, and stakes events but April 1 is around the corner.
If there is not a signed contract by April 1, then simulcast wagering would be halted (on Thoroughbred racing).
In addition, the United States’ tariff implementation as it affects racehorses and breeding horses is set to go into effect on April 2. Plenty has been written about this tricky situation in recent days.
Behind the scenes, horses who have been playing in several feet of Ontario snow this winter are back at the track and cantering around the training track. The Main track tapeta is expected to open on March 23.
On the frontside of the track, studying is no doubt underway to find out how to boost interest in betting on horse races – contests, seminars, knowledgeable handicappers providing content – and how to get new owners involved.
Those are two of the most vital issues facing racing today.
