Industry Reports

Prince of Wales Race Confirms Nobody Would Bag the OLG CA$500K Bonus

The Canadian Triple Crown is among the long-anticipated racing events that manage to transform every Canadian summer. It celebrates Thoroughbred racing with three legs, this week bringing the second one.

All eyes were set on One Bad Boy, the winner of race #1, but it was in fact Tone Broke that seized the first place of this race and completely changed the course of events from here on out. The 84th edition of the renowned Prince of Wales transformed this week with its exciting racing action happening live at Fort Erie Racetrack.

July 23 was a date eyed by all Thoroughbred enthusiasts as this is the second race of a total of three. Expectations were that the winner of the first race, One Bad Boy is going to showcase its potential once again and defeat all rivals but this was not the case. Instead, it was Tone Broke that performed best at the mile and 1/16th race.

Tone Broke Wins Second Leg

Queenā€™s Plate was the live race that made the last days of June special at Woodbine Racetrack. Three-year-old horses were racing and all were determined to reach as high as possible on the official leader board at the end of the race. One Bad Boy was the winner at the end of the day, which also meant the team bagged CA$1 million.

Fort Erie was the racetrack hosting the second leg of this racing bonanza and a potential second win for One Bad Boy was projected to have major repercussions. As it often happens, life got in the way and changed everything.

One Bad Boy was well on its way to make it first to the finish line and this appeared to be its destiny until Tone Broke decided the time to shine has come. Flavien Prat, the well-known jockey for One Bad Boy, stated that a possible reason for this defeat might be the track surface. This might have interfered with the horseā€™s performance and cost them both the win.

CA$2M in Wagers Placed

One Bad Boy performed well at the 1 Ā¼ mile synthetic Tapeta track at Woodbine Racetrack at the end of June. The stellar performance meant that Mr. Prat was the winner of both the Canadian prestigious Queenā€™s Plate and the renowned Kentucky Derby, a feat that has not been achieved since 1998.

In the second leg, Tone Broke ran with a comfortable for him pace, which was his jockey Ricardo Santanaā€™s ultimate goal. The first place resulted in a prize of CA$400,000 for the winner. The day generated more than CA$2 million in wagers, marking a year-on-year improvement. Last yearā€™s edition of the race attracted some CA$1.9 million in wagers. When all is said and done, 2016 remains a memorable year, as wagers reached CA$2.2 million.

Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation offered a special CA$500,000 bonus to the colt that manages to win all three races. In Canadian Triple Crownā€™s history, this has happened a mere 12 times and is considered a feat, which would not be seen this year. The last race of the Canadian Triple Crown would bring back action to Woodbine Racetrack on August 17 with the CA$400,000 Breederā€™s Stakes.