Table of Contents:
Introduction
Fort Erie Racetrack is located in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1897, Fort Erie is the only horse racing venue in the Niagara Region. 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. border. The racecourse is regarded for being very scenic and picturesque.
Before COVID 19 restrictions on the public attending crowd events, parking and admission were free into the racecourse.
History of Fort Erie
Wednesday, June 16th 1897 witnessed the inaugural races go to post at Fort Erie. The racetrack was at one time owned by the Cella family, who also owned Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. They sold it in 1952 to renowned Canadian horseman E. P. Taylor who was acting on behalf of the Ontario Jockey Club. Interesting to note, before this change in ownership, Fort Erie was restricted to fourteen days of racing a year which he expanded to 42 days of horse racing over the summer. Taylor also closed many of the smaller tracks around the area of Ontario and to focus on developing racing in Toronto and Fort Erie.
There are two tracks at the racecourse. The main track consists of sandy loam soil over a distance of one mile. The second track is the turf track which is Seven furlongs and located inside the main course. There are some fantastic races run at the Fort Erie track. The most important race run at the Canadian track is the Prince Of Wales Stakes which is part of the Canadian Triple Crown.
Another interesting race is the Puss N Boots Cup which is run annually at the start of the fall meeting. It is named after the horse Puss N Boots, who was leading in the Vandal Stakes (then run at Fort Erie) when he decided to jump the inner hedge near the finish line. The horse landed in one of the infield ponds, dumping his jockey in the process. In recognition, the winning jockey of the Cup jumps into the pond in celebration. Several other stakes races were once run at Fort Erie but have since been transferred to Woodbine. This includes the Bison City Stakes, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara for fillies.
Facilities
The facilities at Fort Erie are second to none. There is a great selection of dining facilities to choose from including the Racebook, Tiki Bar and Tufside Dining Room restaurants. A farmers market is also regularly held at the racecourse pre-COVID 19.
Top horses to follow 2020
Mighty Heart is the 2020 Prince Of Wales Stakes winner. 2020 marked the 85th running of the race, in which Daisuke Fukumoto guided home the incredible one-eyed horse who is trained by Josie Carroll.
Other interesting horses on the Canadian circuit to keep an eye on include the Kevin Attard trained Clayton who finished third in this season’s Queen’s Plate. Dotted Line trained by Sid Attard and Mark Casse’s Muskoka Giant.
Top jockeys to follow 2020
Irad Ortiz, Jr who was born August 1992 is the leading rider on the New York racing circuit since 2012. Ortiz has four winners at the 2019 breeders’ cup event, including wins in both the $4 million Turf and the $6 million Classic. In 2019, Ortiz repeated the Eclipse Award by leading in both wins and second places, as well as establishing a single-year earnings record for North American horse racing of $34,109,019.
Joel Rosario is another top jockey originally from the Dominican Republic. In the space of five weeks in 2013, he rode the winners of the Dubai World Cup and the Kentucky Derby. The Shoemaker Mile Stakes is a victory to his 2020 campaign and in total, the 35-year-old has won a total of $12,907,955 this season.
Top Trainers to follow 2020
Canadian trainer Josie Carroll is a successful trainer and became the first female trainer to win the Queen’s Plate in 2006. In more recent success the Canadian trainer’s candidate the incredible one-eyed horse Mighty Heart to win the 2020 Prince Of Wales Stakes campaign.
Brad Cox began his career under trainers Burt Kessinger and Jimmy Baker, later earning a job as an assistant to trainer Dallas Stewart. Cox launched his solo training career in 2005 and has since trained multiple graded stakes Chocolate Ride and Call Pat as well as top-tier runners Spelling Again, Almasty, and Carve. Cox 2020 campaign witnessed the return of Monomoy Girl, who won her first three races of the year through September, including two graded stakes. Cox also picked up his second win in the Longines Kentucky Oaks with longshot Shedaresthedevil.
Other names to keep an eye out for include Sid Attard and Kevin Attard as well as Catherine Day Philips.
Online betting with Racebets
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Source: https://blog.racebets.com/fort-erie-horse-racing-betting
