Woodbine to card allowance races restricted to CTHS sale grads

Stakes races restricted to graduates of a certain auction are nothing new. Local breed organizations often facilitate the races to incentivize entry in their sales, and the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. fashions an entire card around its graduates in January.

What’s more unusual is an allowance race written for auction alumni.

Woodbine’s latest condition book features a pair of six-furlong, $45,000 allowance races restricted to 2-year-old graduates of a Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (Ontario Division) auction. A race for fillies is carded for Aug. 6, while colts and geldings are scheduled for Aug. 7.

To the best of racing secretary Stu Slagle’s knowledge, the races will be the first of their kind in Canada and possibly for North America.

“It’s an innovative way to reward people for participating in the local CTHS sales program, and hopefully it’s successful,” he said. “It’s unusual for horsemen to telegraph their plans for overnight allowance races too far in advance, but there have been people talking about it, trying to figure out what they have that is eligible.”

The idea was formed last year in a partnership between the CTHS and Woodbine. Slagle said about 250 juveniles were eligible for sales-restricted races this year.

The races will serve as preps for the Muskoka Stakes for fillies and the Simcoe Stakes for males. Both races will be held Aug. 30 for CTHS Ontario auction graduates at 6 1/2 furlongs, each for a $200,000 purse.

Slagle said two more sale-restricted allowance races for juveniles are scheduled for about a month after the stakes races.