ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Woodbine managed to squeeze in a successful 96-day meet between lockdowns in 2020. This year’s meet, which also was delayed from mid-April due to government restrictions from the ongoing pandemic, gets under way Saturday in unison with Stage 1 of Ontario’s reopening, with closing day scheduled for Dec. 5. The 101-day meet will be conducted primarily on a Thursday-through-Sunday schedule, with a 1:20 p.m. post time to start. A healthy horse population should guarantee a field size in the neighborhood of last year’s 8.88 horses per race, which was the highest in a decade. There will be no spectators to start the meet, a situation that Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson hopes will change as restrictions ease in Stage 2 of the province’s reopening, which is at least three weeks away. Lawson is keen on offering outdoor dining at Woodbine’s popular third-floor Champions patio when allowed to do so. “We’re anxious to get people back,” Lawson said. “We won’t hold them back any more than the government requires us to. My understanding is we can do things on a limited basis in step two of the reopening. We want to get the Champions patio going as early as possible. It’s one of the best patios in the city. Our food is great. The view is great. We have some ambitious plans to transform that area in the future.” :: DRF Bets players get FREE Daily Racing Form Past Performances and up to 5% weekly cashback. Join Now.  The $1 million Queen’s Plate heads the Aug. 22 card that also includes a trio of turf stakes, the Grade 1 Highlander, the Grade 2 Dance Smartly, and the Grade 3 Ontario Colleen. Traditionally run in late June, the Plate was pushed back to Sept. 12 last year due to the delayed start of the meet. Following considerable debate by Woodbine Entertainment’s management team, Lawson said another September date for Queen’s Plate Day wasn’t viable and a Sunday in late August made the most sense. “We wanted to try running it on a Sunday and not compete with a Saratoga Saturday,” Lawson explained. The busy weekend of Sept. 18-19 has three Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In qualifiers, the Woodbine Mile, Summer, and Natalma Stakes, which are the only non-Lasix races at the meet. The supporting features on the blockbuster Sept. 18 Woodbine Mile card are the Grade 2 Canadian and the Grade 1 Canadian International, which was not run last year and has been moved up from its usual mid-October date. “If some of these big European trainers want to send horses over for the Natalma, Summer, and Mile, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t throw an extra horse on the plane for the International, all with a view of them going onto the Breeders’ Cup in California,” Lawson said. Two important Queen’s Plate preps, the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks and $150,000 Plate Trial, will be contested Aug. 1 along with the Grade 2 Royal North and Grade 3 Vigil. The Grade 1 E.P. Taylor goes Oct. 17 on a card that also includes the Grade 2 Nearctic. The traditional closing-day feature, the Grade 3 Valedictory, has been shortened from 1 3/4 miles to 1 1/2 miles and is on Dec. 5. The Ladies of the Lawn series awards bonus money to the leading point-getter in the Dance Smartly, Canadian, and E.P. Taylor. All three stakes are on the main turf course. The Turf Endurance Series, a $25,000 starter with a $40,000 claiming option, is made up of three races, two of which are on the inner turf. The opening leg going 1 3/8 miles is slated for the weekend of Aug. 21-22, followed by a 1 1/2-mile trek Sept. 12, and a 1 3/4-mile marathon on the main course Oct. 3. The three-race Turf Sprint Series, another $25,000 starter/$40,000 claimer, is scheduled for July 9, July 30, and Aug. 27. Lawson said the variety of surfaces at Woodbine – two vastly different turf courses, synthetic Tapeta on the main track, and a dirt training track – make the facility appealing to U.S. and foreign trainers. “There are a number of significant trainers who want to come to Woodbine with 10, 12, or 15 horses,” Lawson said. “They love our training facilities and surfaces. They like our purses. Ontario-breds are at a premium at U.S. sales. They love our Ontario-bred bonus program. The biggest stumbling block we have is getting grooms and exercise riders work permits from the Canadian government. We’ve got to solve that.” Lawson is excited about the meet and about Woodbine Entertainment’s future, which includes a four-phase redevelopment of the property. “We’re going to run more turf races this year,” Lawson said. “We’ve got a good brand right now, with a good reputation. Mark Casse has helped. Mark’s been a great ambassador for Woodbine. We have lots of exciting things going on with the real-estate development, our role in sports betting, and our positioning in the industry, both on the Thoroughbred and Standardbred side. The future is bright.”