The Valedictory 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 in late November or early December 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 ...

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 ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Open to horses age three and older, the Grade III stakes is contested on a synthetic "all weather" dirt surface over a distance of miles (12 furlongs).

History

Inaugurated as the Valedictory Handicap in 1952 at the

Dufferin Park Racetrack Dufferin Park Racetrack was a racetrack for thoroughbred horse races located on Dufferin Street in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was demolished in 1955 and its stakes races moved to Woodbine Racetrack as part of a consolidation of race ...

, it was moved to the new

for the 1956 running where it remained through 1960. From 1961 through 1993, the race was hosted by

Greenwood Raceway 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 a ...

; thereafter, the race returned to Woodine where it remains. The Valedictory was originally run on dirt but in 2006 Woodbine switched to a synthetic "all weather" surface (originally Polytrack and then Tapeta starting in 2016). Always a longer distance race, over the years it has been contested at a variety of distances: * 1952: miles * 1954–1955: miles * 1956–2019: miles * 2021-Present: miles The Valedictory was not run in 1953. The 2008 Valedictory was canceled due to extreme cold weather, while the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The Valedictory was upgraded to grade III status in 2011. It is the final stakes event of the year at Woodbine racetrack, which is closed to Thoroughbred racing during the winter.

Records

Speed record: * 2:31.10 - Who's The Star, Wentru (2022 -

Dead heat A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a Tie (draw), tie and the competitors are awarde ...

) (At current distance of miles) Most wins: * 2 - Bernfield (1957, 1958) * 2 - Whiteborough (1962, 1963) * 2 - Caesar B. Good (1967, 1968) * 2 - Knight's Turn (1979, 1980) * 2 - Pumpkin Rumble (2018, 2019) Most wins by a

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 ...

: * 4 -

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 ...

(1959, 1966, 1967, 1975) * 4 -

Patrick Husbands Patrick Husbands (born May 22, 1973) is a Barbadian jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. The son of a jockey, he began riding as a young boy, turning professional in his home country where he rode successfully until emigrating to Toronto, Ontari ...

(2005, 2010, 2011, 2013) * 4 -

Emma-Jayne Wilson Emma-Jayne Wilson (born September 1, 1981) is a Sovereign and Eclipse Award-winning jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. She began taking riding lessons at age nine, and after finishing high school in Brampton, she studied equine management at Kem ...

(2006, 2012, 2014, 2016) * 4 -

Eurico Rosa da Silva Eurico Rosa da Silva (born June 29, 1975, in Buri, São Paulo, Brazil) is a retired Thoroughbred racing jockey who raced for five years in his native Brazil and another four years in Macau before coming to Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. ...

(2007, 2015, 2018, 2019) Most wins by a trainer: * 5 -

Lou Cavalaris, Jr. Louis C. "Lou" Cavalaris Jr. (January 30, 1924 - May 2, 2013) was an Americans, American-born horse trainer, trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses who was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and who for ten years was a highly respec ...

(1964, 1970, 1974, 1976, 1994) * 5 - Mark E. Casse (2003, 2010, 2017, 2021, 2022) Most wins by an owner: * 7 -

George R. Gardiner George Ryerson Gardiner, (April 25, 1917 – December 7, 1997) was a Toronto businessman, philanthropist and co-founder of the Gardiner Museum, the only museum in Canada devoted exclusively to ceramic art. Early years Gardiner was born in To ...

(1961, 1964, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1994) * 7 - Gardiner Farms (1961, 1964, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1994)

Winners

Other North American Marathon races

On dirt: *

Brooklyn Handicap The Brooklyn Invitational Stakes (formerly known as the Brooklyn Handicap) is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, on Long Island. It currently is a Grade II event open to four-year-ol ...

Fort Harrod Stakes The $100,000 Fort Harrod Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid April at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. A Listed Race open to horses age four and older, the 1⅝-mile (13 furlongs) event was contested on ...

Gallant Man Handicap The Gallant Man Handicap is a discontinued American Thoroughbred horse race first run on June 1, 2008 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. Open to horses age three and older, it was contested on Cushion Track synthetic dirt at a d ...

Tokyo City Cup The Tokyo City Cup Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the beginning of April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. A Grade III event raced on dirt at a distance of miles (12 furlongs), it is open to horses aged fo ...

* Las Vegas Marathon Stakes (formerly the Breeders' Cup Marathon) 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 ...

: * San Juan Capistrano Invitational Handicap *

Carleton F. Burke Handicap The Carleton F. Burke Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Raced in late October as part of the Oak Tree Racing Association series, it is open to horses age three and older and is ...

* Kentucky Cup Turf Stakes

References

{{reflist
Race details and entrants for the 2008 Valedictory Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack

The 2007 Valedictory Stakes at Woodbine Entertainment
Graded stakes races in Canada Open long distance horse races Horse races in Canada Horse races established in 1952 Woodbine Racetrack 1952 establishments in Ontario

History

Records

Winners

Other North American Marathon races

See also

References