The Prince of Wales Stakes is a Canadian

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

run annually at

Fort Erie Race Track Fort Erie Race Track is a horse racing facility in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, that opened on June 16, 1897. The racetrack is often referred to as "the border oval" because of the track's proximity (barely a mile as the crow flies) to the U.S. ...

Fort Erie, Ontario Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is directly across the river from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of Old Fort Erie which played a prominent role in the War of 1812. Fort Erie is one of N ...

. Restricted to only three-year-old horses bred in Canada, it is contested on dirt over a distance of miles (1.9 km; furlongs). In 1959, the Prince of Wales Stakes became the second race in the Canadian Triple Crown series. It follows the June running of the

King's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate between 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest Thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America. It is run at a distance of ...

and precedes the

Breeders' Stakes The Breeders' Stakes is a stakes race for Thoroughbred race horses foaled in Canada, first run in 1889. Since 1959, it has been the third race in the Canadian Triple Crown for three-year-olds. Held annually in August at Woodbine Racetrack in T ...

in August. The race was inaugurated in 1929 at the now defunct

Thorncliffe Park Raceway Thorncliffe Park Raceway was a Toronto-area racetrack that operated from 1917 until 1952. It was located east of Millwood Road, south of Eglinton Avenue East and the CPR's railroad tracks. It was the first home of the Prince of Wales Stakes. The na ...

in today's

Thorncliffe Park Thorncliffe Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the former Borough of East York. The City of Toronto recognizes Thorncliffe Park's boundaries as the Don River on the south side; Leaside Bridge, Millwood Road, and Laird Driv ...

neighbourhood of central east

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Historical notes

In 1959, the

E.P. Taylor Edward Plunket Taylor, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989) was a Canadian business tycoon, investor and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred race horses, and a major force behind the evolution of the Canadian horse-racing ...

colt

New Providence New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It is the location of the national capital city of Nassau, whose boundaries are coincident with the island; it had a population of 246 ...

emerged as a Triple Crown champion in its first year of existence. In the ensuing years, six more three-year-olds have equaled the feat. In 2014, it was decided to grandfather the five horses who had won the series prior to 1959 as well. According to the racetrack's website, for fans, the most popular winner of the race was the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and American Hall of Fame filly

Dance Smartly Dance Smartly (1988–2007) was a Champion Thoroughbred racemare who went undefeated in 1991 while winning the Canadian Triple Crown and becoming the first horse bred in Canada to ever win a Breeders' Cup race. She was inducted into both the Can ...

who went on to win the 1991 Triple Crown. In 1995 Barbara J. Minshall became the first woman to train the winner of a Canadian Triple Crown race when the Minshall Farms colt Kiridashi won. To date, no female

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

has won the Prince of Wales Stakes, although

Francine Villeneuve Francine Alicia Villeneuve (born July 22, 1964) is a Canadian retired thoroughbred jockey and racing pioneer. She is sometimes referred to by the nickname "The Queen of Fort Erie" because of a long affiliation with the border oval. With 1,001 v ...

and Autumn Snow lost the 2005 running by a nose to

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. Uniquely, the 2003 edition featured the first "father vs. daughter" match up in a Canadian Triple Crown race, when jockeys David Clark and Cory Clark competed against one another. He finished third aboard Shoal Water, while she brought her horse, Sonofawac, home in sixth position. From 1959 through 1987 the Prince of Wales Stakes was run on

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

. Since inception, it has been contested at four different Ontario racetracks and at various distances: * miles : 1929–1930 at

, 1957–1958 at

Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track ...

* miles : 1932–1942 and 1947–1952 at Thorncliffe Park Raceway, 1944–1945 and 1953–1955 at

Old Woodbine Racetrack Greenwood Raceway (originally Woodbine Race Course) was a horse racing facility in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History Woodbine Race Course Inaugurated in 1874 as Woodbine Race Course at the foot of Woodbine Avenue and Lake Ontario, it was owned ...

, 1956 at Woodbine Racetrack * miles : 1959–1975 at Fort Erie Racetrack * miles : 1976–1987 at Fort Erie Racetrack * miles : 1988–present at Fort Erie Racetrack

Records

Speed record: (at current distance of miles) * 1:53.80 –

Bruce's Mill Bruce's Mill Conservation Area (BMCA) is a conservation area located off Stouffville Road in the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Regional Municipality of York, Canada. The conservation area is about 108 hectares (267 acres) in size. BMCA is ho ...

(1994) Most wins by a

: * 5 –

Hugo Dittfach Hugo Dittfach (20 September 1936 – 1 November 2021) was a Canadian jockey. Dittfach survived three years as a boy in a Russian concentration camp during World War II and went on to become a National Champion Thoroughbred racing jockey in Cana ...

(1960, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1967) Most wins by a trainer: * 7 –

Gordon J. McCann Gordon J. "Pete" McCann (1908 – January 18, 2000) was a Canadians, Canadian Thoroughbred horse trainer. He was born in East York, now part of the city of Toronto. Known to his family as Gordon, in racing circles he was nicknamed Pete. Pete ...

(1951, 1952, 1954, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1967) Most wins by an owner: * 9 –

E. P. Taylor Edward Plunket Taylor, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989) was a Canadian business tycoon, investor and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred race horses, and a major force behind the evolution of the Canadian horse-racing ...

and/or

Windfields Farm Windfields Farm was a six square kilometre (1,500 acre) Thoroughbred horse breeding farm that was founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Origin The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor originated w ...

(1951, 1952, 1954, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1967, 1972, 1988)

Winners

A † designates a

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

winner.

Broadcasting

TSN owns broadcast rights to the event. It has carried the race intermittently due to the lack of consistent sponsorship; the race will air on TSN in 2018 through a sponsorship with the

Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, known for corporate branding purposes simply as OLG since 2006, is a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario, Canada. It is responsible for the province's lotteries, charity and Aboriginal c ...

References

''Toronto Star'' article on the 2009 Prince of Wales Stakes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prince Of Wales Stakes Restricted stakes races in Canada Fort Erie Race Track Flat horse races for three-year-olds Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing Recurring sporting events established in 1929 1929 establishments in Ontario Summer events in Canada