Everything is set for a busy action-packed weekend of live racing at Woodbine Mohawk Park, as the Standardbred track will resume racing after this week’s cancellations. On Saturday, April 1, 2023, the track will host a 15-race card, including the New Holland Trotting and Pacing Series which were initially scheduled for last week.
Last Saturday’s card at the Campbellville had to be cancelled due to the extreme winds, which only further extended the originally scheduled end of March break by an extra program. This week’s bread from racing enabled the track to perform its annual spring maintenance of the facilities, including the oval and the previously announced light replacement project.
Special Schedule for the Enhanced Card
On Saturday, the track will finally content the New Holland Trotting and Pacing Series finals which were rescheduled and both were carried over as originally drawn for this week’s card. The CA$72,000 trotting race final will be Race 5, while the CA$70,500 pacing series finale is listed under Race 7. The two events were open to non-winners of CA$150,000 for fillies and mares CA$175,000 in 2022.
Also, Saturday’s card will be the first time since June 2019, that 5 races will be held on a single program at the track. A total of 143 horses are expected to feature in the hefty program. In addition to that, with the extra races, the track will offer an enhanced wagering menu with three Pick-5 and three Pick-4 wagers. Race 1 will have an early Pick-5 with a guaranteed pool of CA$100,000.
As March is about to come to an end, the horse racing driver provided an update on Woodbine Standardbred driver and trainer standings. James MacDonald leads all drivers with 79 wins and CA$1.1 million in winnings. Meanwhile, Richard Moreau once more leads all trainers in wins and earnings, with 61 winners and starters’ earnings of CA$1.1 million.
In its press release, the Standardbred track reminded that its Saturday card will come will a special post time due to the increased racing capacity. Its racing participants, fans and horseplayers must know that the Saturday card will kick off at 6 p.m. However, this special post time applies only to the April 1, 2023 card, and the regular post time of 7 p.m. is still in play for its next programs.
Woodbine Entertainment’s 2023 full-stakes season for Standardbreds is set to be more than an exciting one as it is slated to feature over CA$15 million in purses throughout the calendar. Some of its highly anticipated events include the 40th Pepsi North America Cup on June 17, 2023, the Mohawk Million on September 23, 2023, and the CA$665,000 Willian Wellwood Memorial on September 2, 2023.
Committing to New HBPA Contract
In the meantime, in March, the leading horse racing operator also reported that it has inked a new two-year partnership agreement with the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association of Ontario. The contract commits the organization to CA$62 million in purse for the 2023 and 2024 Thoroughbred seasons. It will feature a total of 133 race days in 2023 and 129 race dates for next year.
Source: “Mohawk Back In Action Saturday With 15 Races” Standardbred Canada, March 29, 2023
