Woodbine is the most famous name in Canadian race course history. The track is home to the $1 million Queen's Plate, North America's oldest continuously run stakes race; the $1 million Woodbine Mile; the $2 million Pattison Canadian International and the $1.5 million North America Cup for Standardbreds.
In addition Woodbine is home to the Breeders' Stakes, third and final gem in Canada's Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (comprised of The Queen's Plate; Prince of Wales Stakes, run at Fort Erie; and The Breeders' Stakes). The original Woodbine opened in 1874 on the then-far eastern outskirts of Toronto, which is now virtually downtown. The name of the original track was changed to Old Woodbine in 1956 and it became Greenwood in the spring of 1963. Live racing at Greenwood was terminated at the end of 1993 and a state of the art teletheatre was constructed on the site. The present Woodbine, which has undergone several multi-million-dollar expansions and upgrades, was opened on June 12, 1956. It is situated on 640 acres on the northwestern outskirts of Toronto, just minutes from Lester B. Pearson International Airport and the "airport strip" of modern hotels. Woodbine is the only racetrack in North America capable of conducting Standardbred and Thoroughbred racing on the same day, boasts a seven-eighths-mile harness racing surface, a one-mile dirt track, and the spectacular 1.5 mile E.P. Taylor Turf Course encirlces both tracks. The Queen's Plate, now a $1million race, is the highlight of the summer season. The race was inaugurated in 1860 and has been raced without interruption since. The $1 million ATTO Mile is run over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, enhancing Woodbine's lucrative autumn list of races to be run over the best grass course in North America. The Grade I Canadian International is a world classic on grass. In the 1970s, no fewer than five winners of The Canadian International were voted an Eclipse Award as the outstanding grass Horse of the Year in North America. The race carries a $1.5 million purse and is a part of the Emirates World Series Racing Championship. The parade of Eclipse Champions began in 1973 when Secretariat (Big Red) clinched the grass championship in his farewell to racing, at Woodbine. Dahlia, a French champion, unleashed a champion's rally to defeat Big Spruce and earn her 1974 title. In 1975, Snow Knight, racing in the colours of Mr. Taylor, withstood the late surge of Comtesse de Loir to win his grass title. Youth, in 1976, and MacDiarmida, in 1978, also parlayed grass triumphs at Woodbine into recognition as Eclipse Award winners. Later, the International attracted All Along, the first winner of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe to parade at Woodbine. Slot Machines were opened at Woodbine in March 2000. Under terms of an agreement with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLGC), 1,700 slot machines are operated by the OLGC on a 56,000 square foot slot floor. For the last several years, parking and admission to Woodbine have been free, actual attendance figures are therefore impossible to determine.
Virtual Tours
Woodbine Facility
Now you can 'walk through' Woodbine Racetrack facility by viewing our interactive tour. To begin, simply click on the 'Launch Virtual Tour' button located throughout our site. Detailed instructions on how to use the tour can be found below:
How to navigate:
Look Left: Move your hand cursor ( ) to the left in the picture and the image will pan to the left.
Look Right: Move your hand cursor () to the right in the picture and the image will pan to the right.
Turn Faster: The farther to the left or right you move, the faster you will move in that direction.
Turn Slower: Moving towards the center of the picture will slow the speed down until movement stops.
How to move through rooms & floors:
Click on the Arrows within the tour (shown in the example as 'Entrance') and they will lead you into a different room or area of the tour.
To move to a specific floor, click on a square button marked as Ground, Main, Second, etc. You can then move to a specific area or room on that floor from the menu that is presented along the left side of the tour.
You can also click on an area in the map at the bottom of the tour, or click on one of the buttons across the left.
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