Woodbine Entertainment will be recognizing "Woodbine Stars of the Month" throughout its Standardbred and Thoroughbred racing seasons, and announced its stars for the month of May on Monday, June 6.
The Woodbine Stars of the Month recognizes top performers in three categories (Horse, Trainer, Driver/Jockey) for live racing at Woodbine Mohawk Park and Woodbine Racetrack. The “Stars” are selected by the Woodbine Communications team and consideration for selection is based off statistics, significant wins, notable career accomplishment and milestones.
The Woodbine Stars of the Month will be named on the first Monday of each month.
The Standardbred winners were selected based off performances in May:
Horse: Oney Hall
The Bob McIntosh-trained six-year-old won three of four starts in May, with his only loss being a narrow runner-up finish. All three of Oney Hall’s victories came in the Free For All/Preferred, including a national season’s best mile of 1:51.1 on May 16.
Trainer: Richard Moreau
Moreau posted 19 wins from 98 starts for a 19 per cent win percentage. Moreau capped off the month with four wins on the May 30 card. Top performers included Jimmy Freight (two Free For All Pace wins) and Patriarch Hanover (Free For All Trot winner).
Driver: James MacDonald
MacDonald led all Woodbine drivers with 29 wins in the month of May (21 per cent win percentage). The reigning O’Brien Award Driver of the Year won three SBOA Stakes Finals (Adare Castle, Silver Label, Twin B Archie). MacDonald currently leads all Woodbine drivers in victories, sitting at 145 wins through May.
The Thoroughbred winners were Arzak, trainer Josie Carroll and jockey Kazushi Kimura.
(With files from Woodbine)