2012 Valedictory Stakes

By Cindy Pierson Dulay, About.com Guide

The final race of the 2012 Woodbine season was a $25,000 maiden claiming race for older Ontari-sired horses going 7 furlongs on Polytrack for a $22,000 purse. 5-1 Bloody Caesar went gate-to-wire for the win in a slow 1:24.08 under jockey Steven Bahen, who also won the very first race of the meeting back in April.

Sadly, the race may mark the end of an era , as the highly successful Slots at Racetracks program was cancelled by the government of Ontario and racing will lose its share of the revenues at the end of March 2013 unless the deal is reinstated. This sudden loss of revenues could lead to severely cut purses and cancelled stakes races, reduced racing days, or the extreme result of Woodbine closing for good, a threat made by management during the Queen's Plate post position draw in June. Discussions are apparently underway between the government, horsemen's groups, and track operators to negotiate a new funding deal but this is being done behind closed doors with minimal updates made public. Woodbine has not yet requested dates for the 2013 Thoroughbred season. We hope that Bloody Caesar (named after a Canadian cocktail - a Bloody Mary using Mott's Clamato in place of the tomato juice) is not the last Thoroughbred winner at Woodbine.

Previous

• Heathcote wins the 2012 Valedictory Stakes
• Heathcote heads to the winner's circle
• Heathcote in the winner's circle
• Second place finisher Peyton
• Third place finisher Quaesitor
• Bloody Caesar wins the final race of the season

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