ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Following the passing of 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, speculation was that the Queen’s Plate would revert back to the King’s Plate in honor of the new monarch, King Charles III, as has been the tradition in the 163-year history of the race. Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson said he will meet the board of directors regarding a name change for Canada’s most prestigious horse race. “I’m not going to make the decision without having a discussion with our board,” Lawson said. “Out of respect to the queen, it’s not the first thing I want to talk about regarding Her Majesty. She was big fan and a great supporter of Woodbine. Let’s just give it a little time.” Queen Elizabeth attended the Queen’s Plate on four occasions -  in 1959, 1973, 1997, and 2010. Ironically, Royal Chocolate won the 1973 running over a sloppy track at 25-1. Traditionally run early in the summer, the Plate was pushed back to Sept. 20 in 2020 due to the pandemic and was contested on the third weekend in August the past two years. Lawson said a decision will be made in due time regarding the 2023 date for the $1 million event. “It’s not as much of a board decision as it is a collaboration with our racing, marketing, and wagering departments as to what would work best,” Lawson explained. “It has to be relevant to what other tracks are doing, and to the day of the week, and the time of the year. “We have to sit down and figure out what’s best for the horses and what’s best for Woodbine. We’ll do it by the end of this meet, because people who have 2-year-olds are going to want to know, if they have a nice one, if they should be sending it to Florida in case we move [the race] back to June. I’m not sure what we’ll do, but we’re going to give people lots of [notice].” :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match and FREE Formulator PPs! Join DRF Bets.