Inside 1950s, the fresh new OJC, in leadership off Canadian industrialist and horse breeder Age

It decrease the new for the 1963

Woodbine Racetrack try a race-track to have Thoroughbred horse racing during the the brand new Etobicoke section of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Belonging to Woodbine Entertainment Classification, Woodbine Racetrack takes care of and you will computers Canada’s most well-known race, the newest King’s Plate. The brand new track try open in the 1956 having a one-mile egg-shaped dirt tune, together with good 7-eights grass path. [ 1 ] It’s been commonly renovated as the 1993, and since 1994 has already established about three racecourses. [ 2 ]

Background

The present day Woodbine sells title in the first place used by an effective racetrack and that operate for the the southern area of Toronto, in the Queen love casino online Path Eastern and you can Kingston Roadway, from 1874 as a consequence of 1993. (While the Dated Woodbine Race-course was at the latest south prevent from Woodbine Path, the present day Woodbine try nowhere near they.) Within the 1951, it actually was manage by Ontario Jockey Club (OJC) and held the latest esteemed King’s Plate, it competed with lots of almost every other racetracks for the Ontario and you can is actually needing modernization. [ twenty-three ]

P. Taylor, first started an application from racetrack purchases geared towards as the greatest and more than winning operator during the Ontario pony race, like Taylor’s earlier acquisitions and you will consolidations on Canadian making globe. Within the 1952, the latest OJC purchased and you may signed the money-dropping Thorncliffe Park, [ four ] ordered and you will finalized the newest Hamilton Racetrack, and you will purchased the fresh Fort Erie Racetrack to have California$780,000 . [ four ] Home improvements first started quickly at the Fort Erie as well as Woodbine, funded from the a public giving from inventory having California$2 mil . [ twenty-three ]

Inside 1953, the fresh OJC purchased Stamford Playground within the Stamford township (today section of Niagara Drops, Ontario). It was finalized and soon after redeveloped into the a domestic subdivision. Inside the 1955, Taylor themselves ordered the new competing Orpen-had Dufferin Park Racetrack and you can Enough time Part Racetracks to own Ca$four million ($49.6 million inside the 2023 bucks) [ 5 ] . [ 6 ] The fresh Orpen tunes had been signed and you will redeveloped, and the Orpen race charters transferred to the fresh new OJC. The fresh OJC continued the new Canadian Worldwide and Cup-and-saucer bet races that were stored at the Orpen tracks. [ eight ] The brand new race charters received on other music permitted the brand new OJC to run 196 days of rushing, more twice the greeting complete of 84 weeks within the 1952. [ 3 ]

The services from the racetrack acquisitions and you may closures was in fact designed to support a different sort of “supertrack”. Inside 1952, the fresh new OJC understood the new precise location of the racetrack from the Path 27 eastern of the Toronto airport and you may ordered more than 400 acres (160 ha). The fresh architect chose was Earle C. Morgan. Regardless if Morgan hadn’t tailored a racetrack, the guy spent the following a couple of years development the shape hand in hand with Arthur Froelich, who’d designed Hollywood Park Racetrack and you may Garden Condition Park Racetrack in the usa. [ 8 ] The newest tune was designed to keep forty,000 spectators, enjoys big parking, three race programmes as well as 2 studies tunes. It had stable space for starters,000 horses and bedroom to possess 700 team. The new grandstand, made to score as many people as near towards finish range you could, incorporated multiple dining and you can cafeterias. [ 9 ] Structure to your the new supertrack first started inside the 1955.

The new racetrack open towards Summer several, 1956, based at a price away from Ca$thirteen million ($143 mil within the 2023 dollars). [ 5 ] [ ten ] It absolutely was initial referred to as The new Woodbine Racetrack. The outdated song try transformed into a mixed thoroughbred and you may standardbred tune recognized thereafter as the Old Woodbine otherwise, for the majority of your own remainder of their record, as the Greenwood Raceway (during the standardbred match) and you can Greenwood Race track (through the thoroughbred meets). The 2 thoroughbred and two standardbred matches conducted from the Greenwood was basically transferred to the fresh Woodbine in the 1994, which had been until then entirely devoted to thoroughbred rushing. To your June 30, 1959, King Elizabeth II as well as the Duke away from Edinburgh went to the brand new 100th powering of the Queen’s Plate, [ 11 ] and you will King E II again to your , went to the newest 151st running of your Queen’s Dish Limits and exhibited trophies.