Results tagged “woodbine”

In its early years, the Queen's Plate was a rather raucous and unpredictable annual event. Because the world's oldest thoroughbred race was nomadic for its first twenty years, moving from the Carleton racetrack at Dundas and Keele, to London, Ottawa, St. Catharines, and elsewhere according to the lobbying efforts of politicians, its organization was loose. Rules and the course length differed from year to year. The Plate, intended by Queen Victoria to encourage colonial breeders to strive to develop quality horses, was sometimes little more than a sideshow at county fairs. Names of horses were changed from one year to the next, and the colour of a horse's silks often differed from the description in the official program. There was hardly a running of the Queen's Plate that didn't provoke charges of fixed races, ineligible "ringer" horses, or illegal riding tactics. Confusion reigned. One classic example came in 1865, when the winning and second place horses were both disqualified. Nora Criena was reported to have won the run-off heat, but, months later and without explanation, Lady Norfolk was instead announced as the official Queen's Plate winner.

Photo by Andrew Z.