The Plate

The Queen’s Plate was inaugurated, with royal blessing, on Wednesday, June 27, 1860, at the Carleton track in Toronto, located in bucolic surroundings near what is now the traffic-strangled southwestern corner of Keele and Dundas streets.

There is no reason to believe that Queen Victoria was a wild-eyed devotee of horse racing. However, Her Majesty granted the petition of the little turf club in the boisterous Upper Canada community (the population of Toronto was 44,425) and offered as an annual prize, “a plate to the value of Fifty Guineas.” And thus Canadian horse racing was established as “the sport of royalty.”

Today, the Queen’s Plate is the first jewel in Canada’s Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing and the longest continuously run stakes race in North America. It takes place every June, and the first-place purse is $1 million. The Plate is unquestionably Canada’s most famous, one-day social and sporting event.

This book explores the colourful history of the Queen’s Plate through words and archival photographs.

AUTHOR

Louis E Cauz

Louis E. Cauz is a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame. He is the author of “Baseball’s Back in Town “and “The Plate: A Royal Tradition.” Beverley Smith has covered horse racing for the “Globe and Mail “for more than 25 years.


AUTHOR

Beverley A Smith

Louis E. Cauz is a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame. He is the author of “Baseball’s Back in Town “and “The Plate: A Royal Tradition.” Beverley Smith has covered horse racing for the “Globe and Mail “for more than 25 years.


Awards

  • Heritage Toronto Award – Book 2010, Short-listed
  • Excerpts & Samples ×

    The Queen’s Plate was inaugurated, with royal blessing, on Wednesday, June 27, 1860, at the Carleton track in Toronto, located in bucolic surroundings near what is now the traffic-strangled southwestern corner of Keele and Dundas streets.

    There is no reason to believe that Queen Victoria was a wild-eyed devotee of horse racing. However, Her Majesty granted the petition of the little turf club in the boisterous Upper Canada community (the population of Toronto was 44,425) and offered as an annual prize, “a plate to the value of Fifty Guineas.” And thus Canadian horse racing was established as “the sport of royalty.”

    Today, the Queen’s Plate is the first jewel in Canada’s Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing and the longest continuously run stakes race in North America. It takes place every June, and the first-place purse is $1 million. The Plate is unquestionably Canada’s most famous, one-day social and sporting event.

    This book explores the colourful history of the Queen’s Plate through words and archival photographs.

    Reader Reviews

    Details

    Dimensions:

    350 Pages
    11.5in * 9.75in *
    3.225lb

    Published:

    January 01, 2010

    City of Publication:

    Toronto

    Country of Publication:

    CA

    Publisher:

    ECW Press

    ISBN:

    9781550228946

    Featured In:

    All Books

    Language:

    eng

    No author posts found.

    Related Blog Posts

    There are no posts with this book.