The 165th King’s Plate was five races into its Saturday card when Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) postponed the remaining races due to inclement weather causing unsafe track conditions. After conjuring and checking out the schedule that lay ahead for Woodbine Racetrack, the team at WEG rescheduled Canada’s premiere race for the following Friday, Aug. 23.
“The safety of our horses, riders, horse people, and all racing participants is paramount to Woodbine,” Woodbine Entertainment CEO Michael Copeland said in a press release on Saturday. “We understand the disappointment for everyone who joined us today, including our great fans, but it was the right decision, one made in concert with the HBPA, jockeys, and veterinarians, to cancel the races.
“We want to thank everyone for their understanding of the decision that was made, and hope we can welcome you back this Friday, where we will crown another Plate winner and add their name to a list of great champions.”
According to the press release, along with the 165th King’s Plate, Friday’s card will include the four stakes that were also supposed to take place Aug. 17: the $200,000 bet365 King Edward (G2T), the $150,000 Bold Venture Stakes (G3), $150,000 bet365 Soaring Free and $150,000 Catch a Glimpse.
How will this affect the betting?
By the looks of it, the entries should stay the same for the 165th King’s Plate. There was a late scratch of the Kevin Attard-trained Bedard due to illness, but the trainer feels the horse should have enough time to recover since the date has been changed.
There may be some scratches throughout the week. Some connections might want to point their horses elsewhere, but the news of such things seems hushed as of this writing. Some out-of-town jockeys might not stick around for the race as they have commitments in other circuits. As always, if you want to handicap Friday’s big race, watch for any news regarding scratches and jockey changes.
The business side
From a business standpoint, we’d argue that WEG will be hit hard in the pocketbook. Since the race is taking place on a Friday, many bettors who’d either be wagering on track or off track at the many OTBs throughout Canada won’t be available to bet the card since most will be working. Plus, most of the guests who travelled from around the globe to come and see the race will probably be long gone unless they can make new plans themselves.
With things being what they are now, the handle for one of Woodbine’s most profitable days will decrease. It’s hard to know how much of a hit the handle will take until the King’s Plate race day rolls around. That said, it’s safe to say that the WEG isn’t really looking forward to finding out.
Race preview
It’s important to mention that the 165th King’s Plate won’t be redrawn. That means everything, including the post positions, will remain the same as on Saturday. We still think it’s #7 – My Boy Prince’s race to win. That said, we like #2 – Bafaroo to pull the upset if he can get some early pace to chase.
The weather for Friday, Aug. 23, looks to be warm and sunny, which should provide all the conditions for a fast track. We doubt too many trainers will be rethinking their race strategies unless there are jockey changes and those jockeys want to race a slightly different race than the one before them.
In other words, we’re confident with our picks and look forward to seeing how things play out.
