Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) announced Friday that it has reached an agreement with Woodbine after it conducted an investigation into a rash of equine fatalities in the fall of 2024. Woodbine did not contest the AGCO findings. Between Oct. 28 and Dec. 15, 19 horses sustained injuries while racing and training over Woodbine's synthetic surface. Ten of those horses had to be euthanized. Two horses died on Nov. 9 and the remainder of that day's card was cancelled. The breakdowns were not expected as Woodbine's Tapeta...
Responding to a rash of recent breakdowns at Woodbine, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), which regulates racing in the province, has taken steps it hopes will lead to fewer injuries. Woodbine has now had six fatalities since the Nov. 9 card in which two horses died and the remainder of the day's program was cancelled, as was the next scheduled day of racing. The biggest change is that any horse that has raced within the previous 14 calendar days is ineligible to race and will be scratched...
During the finale of a 12-race card at Woodbine Racetrack on Saturday, Flawless Ruler (Honor Code) was eased at the top of the lane during a $15,000 claimer going a mile and a sixteenth over the all-weather course, was vanned off, and after an examination by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO)-licensed veterinarians at the barn, the 5-year-old gelding was humanely euthanized, the track said via a press release late Saturday. Following a thorough investigation of the incident, the veterinarians concluded that the injury was unlikely to be...
Woodbine, which cancelled both racing and training effective two races before the end of Saturday's card after three separate incidents on the Tapeta surface, will reopen to training Wednesday morning and is scheduled to resume live racing Thursday. The all-weather surface underwent "a thorough review and extensive maintenance conducted over the last couple of days," said officials from Woodbine Entertainment in a Wednesday afternoon release. "The safety of our horses and riders is our highest priority and we have been working diligently over the last couple of days to ensure...
Woodbine Entertainment has cancelled training and the scheduled race card for Sunday, Nov. 10, as a precautionary measure to prioritize the safety and well-being of the horses and jockeys after three catastrophic breakdowns took place on Saturday, the track said in a release early on Sunday morning. On Saturday morning during workouts at Woodbine, an unnamed horse suffered a breakdown. During the second race on the card, Social Dancer (Society's Chairman) took an awkward step at the half-mile marker, had to be eased and was then vanned off via equine...
Woodbine Entertainment has named Mark Krembil and Tom Mungham to its Board of Directors, the track said in a press release on Friday. The appointments of Krembil, a principal of Chiefswood Stables, and Mungham, a former CEO and Registrar of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), are subject to AGCO approval. "We are excited to welcome Mark [Krembil] and Tom [Mungham] to our Board of Directors," said Jim Lawson, executive chair of Woodbine Entertainment. "Their extensive leadership, knowledge, and industry experience will be invaluable as we work to...