Turf racing makes earlier than usual return

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Turf racing returns to Woodbine this week with the first race scheduled for the inner course on Friday when rain is in the forecast.

Tim Lawson, Woodbine’s vice president of racing, said turf season is beginning earlier than usual because of covers that were installed over the course last fall for the winter.

“We made a huge effort to try to preserve the inner turf grass,” Lawson said. “We purchased tarps from the same provider that NYRA uses at Aqueduct. We wanted to get on it a little earlier. It made a huge difference. We’re offering turf racing two weeks earlier than last year. It’s what our horsepeople and horseplayers want.”

Lawson said the old portion of 1 1/2-mile main E.P. Taylor turf, which was originally named the Marshall course, will undergo a restoration beginning next year.

“We’re refurbishing the Marshall portion of our E.P. Taylor turf course,” Lawson explained. “That section, which is pretty much the entire backstretch, has aged quite a bit. We’re doing a complete makeover of that stretch with the hope that some new and quality turf will allow for better drainage, so we have a better chance of keeping races on the grass during inclement weather.

“The plan is to start in September of 2025 with a completion date of late the next summer, so we can keep our Grade 1 races going, especially the [Breeders’ Cup] Win and You’re Ins. We’re growing sod right now that looks pretty good.”

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Friday’s third race for fillies and mares, scheduled for 7 1/2 furlongs on the inner turf, is a starter allowance for runners who have been entered in a claiming race of $5,000 or less in 2023-24, or for $10,000 claimers.

Trainer Mike DePaulo sends out the classy 4-year-olds Stanley House and Cool Kiss in Friday’s featured conditioned allowance over 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta. None of the six entrants runs for the $50,000 optional claiming price.

Stanley House finished a good third in the 2023 King’s Plate while beating Cool Kiss, who wound up seventh after a very wide trip in the 1 1/4-mile Canadian classic.

Stanley House has been sidelined since a dull seventh in the Grade 3 Ontario Derby in October. He has worked impressively here this spring, including five-eighths in a bullet 59.80 seconds last Saturday when he galloped out three-quarters in 1:12.20.

Cool Kiss beat favored Stanley House over a sloppy track when fourth in the Prince of Wales Stakes on Sept. 12 at Fort Erie. He went on to finish fourth in the Ontario Derby and then went to the bench before running seventh in a March 24 conditioned allowance/optional claimer on the dirt at Gulfstream Park.

Jose Campos has been working Stanley House and will ride him for the first time. Luis Contreras has the mount on Cool Kiss.

Lining up against them will be Aha Moment, On Thin Ice, Lac Macaza, and Stone Age.

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