The Canadian Triple Crown (branded as the OLG Canadian Triple Crown for sponsorship reasons) is a series of three

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 ...

s run annually in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

which is open to three-year-old horses foaled in Canada. Established in 1959, the series is unique in that it shares the same distances as its American counterpart but is contested on three different

track surface The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: * Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common trac ...

s. The first leg, 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 ...

in August, is contested at 1¼ miles on Tapeta 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, Ontario 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 ...

, whereas the Prince of Wales Stakes in September is a 1³/16 mile event run on dirt 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 ...

. The final leg is the 1½ mile

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 October, which is 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 agricult ...

over one full lap of the E. P. Taylor Turf Course at Woodbine. The Canadian Triple Crown shares another characteristic with its American counterpart – all of the races in both series are open to

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

s. This differs from the situation in Europe, where many important flat races, notably the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and all but one of the French classics, bar geldings. Since 2014, all of the races in the Canadian Triple Crown have been televised by TSN.

Winners of the Triple Crown

Twelve horses are officially recognized as winning the Canadian Triple Crown: Champions (before 1959): Champions (since 1959):

Individual race winners

Notes * The Canadian Triple Crown was officially established in 1959 * ^♥ indicates filly

Notes

In 2011, Luis Contreras became the first jockey to sweep the Triple Crown races with different horses. He won the then Queen's Plate on Inglorious and the next two races on Pender Harbour. In 2020, trainer

Josie Carroll Josie Carroll (born December 8, 1957) is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse trainer, who in 2006 became the first woman trainer to win the Queen's Plate, the oldest thoroughbred horse race in Canada and Canada's most prestigious race. She also won the ...

won all three legs of the Canadian Triple Crown with Mighty Heart winning the then

Queen'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 Prince of Wales Stakes and Belichick winning the

References

External links

Woodbine Racetrack official websiteFort Erie Race Track official website
{{Triple Crown of Horse Racing Recurring events established in 1959 Horse races in Canada Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing

Winners of the Triple Crown

Individual race winners

Notes

See also

References

External links