Queen's Plate

Horseraces infobox
class = Grade 1
horse race = Queen's Plate


caption = Oldest Thoroughbred horse race in North America
First Leg of the Canadian Triple Crown
location = Woodbine Racetrack
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
inaugurated = 1860
race type = Thoroughbred
website = [http://www.woodbineentertainment.com/thoroughbred/raceevents/qp/index.asp Queen's Plate at Woodbine Entertainment Corp.]
distance = 1¼ miles
track = Polytrack, Left-handed
qualification = 3-year-old Canadian-bred
weight = Colt/Gelding: 126 lbs (57.2 kg)
Filly: 121 lbs. (54.9 kg)
purse = CAN$1 million
bonuses = The Queen's Plate is North America's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1¼ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbed horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each June at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke (Toronto), Ontario. For safety reasons, since 1995 the race has been limited to a maximum of 17 starters.

The first race in the Canadian Triple Crown, it is followed by the Prince of Wales Stakes in July and the Breeders' Stakes in August.

Initiated in 1859 by the then president of the Toronto Turf Club, Sir Casimir Gzowski, a distinguished Polish engineer and ancestor of the popular Canadian broadcaster, Peter Gzowski, the Queen's Plate was inaugurated on June 27, 1860, at the Carleton racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. The prize of 50 guineas was originally awarded by Queen Victoria. Elizabeth II, as Queen of Canada, is patron of the event, and various other members of the Canadian Royal Family have been in attendance through the years.

Horses owned by Windfields Farm have won the Queen's Plate eleven times, but the most successful was the stable owned by Joseph E. Seagram, a prominent distiller from Waterloo, Ontario. Seagram's stable won it on twenty occasions between 1891 and 1935 including eight times in a row between 1891 and 1898, and ten times in eleven years from 1891 to 1901.

The record time for the race since 1957 when it was run at 1¼ miles is 2:01 4/5 set by Kinghaven Farms Izvestia in 1990.

In 2006, Josie Carroll became the first woman trainer to ever win the Queen's Plate. In 2007, Emma-Jayne Wilson became the first female jockey to win the race.

Evolution of Queen's Plate Distances:
*1860-1867 1 mile heats
*1868-1870 2 miles
*1871 1¾ miles
*1872-1886 1½ miles
*1887-1923 1¼ miles
*1924-1956 1⅛ miles
*since 1957 1¼ miles

Winningest Jockeys:
* 4 - Avelino Gomez (1957, 1960, 1966, 1969)
* 4 - Sandy Hawley (1970, 1971, 1975, 1978)
* 4 - Robin Platts: (1972, 1974, 1977, 1984)

Winningest Trainers:
* 8 - Harry Giddings, Jr. (1911, 1913, 1914, 1920, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1942)
* 8 - Roger Attfield (1976, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2008)
* 6 - John R. Walker (1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896)
* 6 - Gordon J. "Pete" McCann (1940, 1951, 1953, 1957, 1959, 1963)

Winners of the Queen's Plate

ee also

* List of Canadian organizations with royal patronage

References

* [http://www.woodbineentertainment.com/thoroughbred/raceevents/qp/index.asp Official website]
* [http://www.woodbineentertainment.com/thoroughbred/raceevents/qp/h-royal.asp Queen's Plate: Royal Visits]
* Cauz, Louis E. "The Plate". (1984) Deneau Publishers ISBN 0-88879-104-6