[The Pook]

Tomorrow on the final day of the meet at Woodbine they are featuring 16 races with an average field size of 12. They will run on the (always fast) all weather surface. Since the spring there has been added an inner turf course to replace the standard-bred track. This adds to the European-like outer turf course. At this time of year however the turf is frozen.

A few years ago the provincial government got their act together and assured thoroughbred horse racing a solid future in Ontario by allowing Woodbine to become the casino entertainment complex it wanted to be. Woodbine is now surrounded by giant cranes building hotels, theatres, casino buildings etc.. And thoroughbred horse racing is at the centre of it.

This is a far cry from 2012 or so when it looked like racing could disappear by granting a casino nearby and not allowing Woodbine to casino up. As we all know horse racing these days needs the support of casino gambling. Along with a state of the art racing surface in tapeta, world class turf courses, reasonable racing medication enforcement, a good online betting experience, and great at the track entertainment and dining facilities, things are looking up. The future looks bright for horse racing in this part of the world.

Heres to a great day tomorrow and another great season come May,

Pook