Kingsport targets Vice Regent

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Kingsport has had a productive start to his 2015 campaign and is on track to start in Sunday’s $125,000 Vice Regent Stakes for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds on turf, trainer Sid Attard said.

Kingsport will bring a two-race winning streak into the Vice Regent after winning an optional-claiming race and closing into a quick pace to win the Deputy Minister Stakes over seven furlongs on Polytrack last time out. Attard said Kingsport is in good shape after a six-furlong maintenance breeze in 1:15 on the Polytrack here Sunday.

Kingsport was considered among the top Queen’s Plate contenders earlier in the year. He closed his 2-year-old campaign with a victory in the Kingarvie Stakes but had a setback while training over the winter that delayed the start of his 3-year-old campaign.

“He got sick on us in Florida,” Attard said. “He had about four or five weeks there, and he put us behind, but he’s good now.”

Kingsport has won on Polytrack and turf this season.

Handicapping contest on tap

Woodbine’s 2015 handicapping challenge will be held Saturday and Sunday in the trackside tent. The contest offers seats to the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge at Keeneland, the 2015 Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship in Las Vegas, and the Hawthorne Fall Super Qualifier.

Players will place $2 win and place wagers on 10 races per day, three of which will be mandatory for all players. Wagers are restricted to races at Woodbine, Saratoga, Monmouth Park, and Arlington Park, and payouts will be capped at 20-1 for win wagers and 10-1 for place wagers.

The tournament entry fee is $330, of which $80 will be used for player bankroll, while the remaining $250 will go toward the tournament prize pool. Woodbine estimates a total prize pool of $50,000 based on 200 entries. The top three finishers each day will split $2,500 in prizes, with the remaining prize pool being split among the top 10 overall finishers.

The top seven finishers also will earn seats to additional tournaments, with one seat available to the BCBC, four seats to the NHC, and two seats to the Hawthorne Fall Super Qualifier.

More information is available on Woodbine’s website at woodbineentertainment.com or by calling 416-675-7223.