Sovereign Awards: 2011 winners to be honored at Woodbine in April

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The 37th Sovereign Awards ceremony, honoring the outstanding performers in Canadian racing and breeding for 2011, will be held at Woodbine on Thursday, April 5, 2012.

The date for the gala, which falls one day before the opening of the 2012 Woodbine meeting, was announced on Wednesday by the Jockey Club of Canada.

The JCC experimented with the timing and location, which is the third floor of the grandstand, for the first time this past April and the event was deemed to have been a success.

On the equine front, the winners will be announced in a total of 10 divisional categories and for Canada’s horse of the year.

To be eligible for consideration, 2-year-olds must have made at least two starts and 3-year-olds and upward at least three starts in Canada during the 2011 season.

Voters will be asked to list their top three choices in the 11 categories and for jockey, apprentice jockey, trainer, owner, breeder, and broodmare. Points will be assigned on a 4-2-1 basis.

The online voting will begin on an undetermined date after Jan. 1, 2012.

Awards also will be presented in four media categories – feature story, newspaper article, photograph, and film/video-broadcast. The deadline for media submissions is Friday, Dec. 9, at 1 p.m. EST.

Tickets are $250 per person and reservations are currently being accepted.

For details contact Stacie Roberts at (416) 675-7756 or at jockeyclub@bellnet.ca.