Woodbine won't be allowed to finish 2020 meet
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - After a last-ditch effort to try to salvage the final three weeks of the meet, Woodbine Entertainment announced Thursday that the remainder of the Woodbine meet has been canceled.
The Ontario government put Toronto into a grey lockdown phase this week to try to curtail a spike in coronavirus cases. Included among the restrictions was no horse racing, but training has been allowed to continue. Racing industry representatives were unable to convince government officials to allow Woodbine to finish out the meet.
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“While I am extremely disappointed we are not able to complete the 2020 Thoroughbred meet, what we achieved this year in face of significant adversity is quite remarkable,” said Jim Lawson, CEO of Woodbine Entertainment.
“Together, we were able to develop, implement and follow strict COVID-19 prevention protocols that allowed us to be the first sport to return to competition in Canada since the shutdowns in March. We safely resumed racing in early June and ran almost 100 racing cards, more than 900 races, and the majority of our stakes schedule, including the 161st running of The Queen’s Plate.”
Sunday was the 97th day of a scheduled 109-day meet, which began June 6. The 2021 meet is expected to begin in April.