Horse Racing

Breeders' Stakes

The Breeders' Stakes is the third and final leg of the Canadian Triple Crown; preceded by the Queen's Plate and the Prince Of Wales Stakes. Hosted every August at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, the Breeders' Stakes concludes one of the most followed series of fixtures on the Canadian racing calendar.

While the Canadian Triple Crown was not introduced until 1959, the Breeders' Stakes were inaugurated in 1889. It was a popular event for three-year-old thoroughbreds as a stand-alone race but the popularity of the Breeders' Stakes increased enormously. Today it is one of the best-attended events of the Canadian horse racing season. At a purse of CAN$500,000 the Breeders' Cup is worth as much as the Prince Of Wales Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown, and half as valuable as the Queen's Plate, the first race of the series.

The Breeders' Stakes is conducted over a distance of 1 ½ miles, the current track record was established in 1995, when thoroughbred Charlie's Dewan shot across the finish line in 2 minutes and 26.25 seconds.

The Breeders' Stakes has a reputation for ending the Triple Crown dreams of contenders who have won the first two legs of the series. Run on an often treacherous grass track, the Breeders' Stakes have stopped many potential champions from achieving hat-trick glory. 1970s hopeful Almoner lost to Mary Of Scotland in the Breeders' Stakes, L'Enjoleur met his match in Momigi in 1975, 1976 wannabe champion Norcliffe suffered a horrendous defeat on the hands of Tiny Tinker, Golde Choice almost made it in 1986 but was overtaken by Carotene, and 2000 saw Scatter The Gold robbed of Triple Crown Glory by Lodge Hill.

Legends of the Breeders' Crown include jockeys Sandy Hawley and Robin Platts, who both rode four winners at the event; and Canada's favourite trainer Roger Attfield, whose training stables produced seven Breeders' Crown champions between 1986 and 2001.

Recent Winners of the Breeders' Stakes: