Canada takes center stage in North American Thoroughbred racing on Saturday, Aug, 15, for the $1 million King’s Plate, the first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown as well as that country’s oldest Thoroughbred horse race.

Founded in 1860, the King’s Plate is the oldest continuously run race in North America. It was held as the Queen’s Plate from 1952 to 2022 in honor of then-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II, the race was renamed the King’s Plate for 2023 after the ascension of King Charles III following his mother’s passing.

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Twelve horses have swept the Canadian Triple Crown races (although the Triple Crown was not officially established until 1959), which is comprised of the King’s Plate, Prince of Wales Stakes, and Breeders’ Stakes: Queensway (1932), Archworth (1939), Uttermost (1945), Ace Marine (1955), Canadian Champ (1956), New Providence (1959), Canebora (1963), With Approval (1989), Izvestia (1990), Dance Smartly (1991), Peteski (1993), and Wando (2003). Queensway and Dance Smartly are two of the 39 fillies to prevail in the Queen’s Plate, with the most recent female winner being Caitlinhergrtness in 2024. 

Luster and Dixie Law, the top-two finishers from the Woodbine Oaks Presented by Stella Artois July 19, have a chance to become the 40^th female King’s Plate winner. 

America’s Best Racing will be on-site at Woodbine for “King's Plate Live!” This action-packed show is hosted by Dan Tordjman, Alexa Zepp, and Samantha Perry and will feature special guests such as Trent Attyah, Krabs, and Rav from Bookit Sports throughout offering gambling analysis and lifestyle commentary during Woodbine’s festive day. “King's Plate Live!” starts at approximately 4:30 p.m. ET and will stream on ABR’s Facebook, X, and YouTube channels. Additionally, all of the action from Woodbine will be broadcast on FanDuel TV.

Let’s take a closer look at the 12-horse field for this year’s race, which has a scheduled post time of approximately 6:30 p.m. ET.

Michael Burns photo

1. Luster (Even-money morning-line odds)

Jockey: John Velazquez

Trainer: Josie Carroll

Owners: Gainesway Stable and Andrew Rosen

Career record: 5 starts – 4 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $493,490

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 98

Pedigree: Knicks Go – Ruby Frost, by The Factor

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Press the pace/stalker

Analysis: Luster dominated the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks Presented by Stella Artois by 5 ½ lengths July 19 for her fourth win in five starts and her second straight victory in a two-turn race on this track’s all-weather Tapeta Footings surface. Prior to the Oaks, she won the Grade 3 Selene Stakes by 1 ¾ lengths June 27 at 1 1/16 miles. Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez utilized the gray or roan Knicks Go filly’s tactical speed expertly in the Woodbine Oaks, and he should have her forwardly placed as one of the favorites in the King’s Plate with a big shot at a victory as the odds-on favorite on the morning line. Trainer Josie Carroll in 2006 became the first woman to train a Queen’s/King’s Plate winner with Edenwold and she has won two additional editions of the Canadian classic, while Velazquez won the race in 2018 on the filly Wonder Gadot.

Michael Burns photo

2. Fire and Wine (30-1)

Jockey: Jalon Samuel

Trainer: Zeljko Krcmar

Owner: Paul Ryder

Career record: 10 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $149,013

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 89

Pedigree: Lexitonian – Double Latte, by The Factor

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker/press the pace

Analysis: The bay Lexitonian colt closed his 2-year-old season with a pair of dominant victories, romping by 13 lengths in a maiden race in October and then winning the 1 1/8-mile Coronation Futurity by five lengths Nov. 29, both on the all-weather surface at Woodbine. Fire and Wine led from start to finish in both of the wins but has been asked to rate off the pace in three races this year with poor results as he’s been beaten by 11 ¼ lengths, 25 ¼ lengths, and 11 ¾ lengths in three stakes starts in 2026. It seems Fire and Wine deserves a chance to revert to front-running tactics in search of a better result. This is a tough spot coming off a trio of sound defeats, but controlling the pace probably gives him the best shot to outrun what figure to be long odds in the King’s Plate.

3. Baaeed Alynna (30-1)

Jockey: Sahin Civachi

Trainer: Kevin Attard

Owner: Tagermeen Racing

Career record: 3 starts – 1 win – 0 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $51,504

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 84

Pedigree: Good Magic – Pacific Dancer, by Stormy Atlantic

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Closer

Analysis: Trainer Kevin Attard is bidding to win this race for the third straight year and the fourth time in the last five editions. Baaeed Alynna ran third in the Display Stakes, his career debut last fall at Woodbine, before posting a breakthrough win at the same seven-furlong distance on the all-weather Tapeta Footings surface June 28 in a maiden special weight race. Attard tested him next in the 1 1/8-mile Plate Trial Stakes July 19 and he faded late while sixth, beaten by seven lengths by Highwaytothemoon. This Good Magic colt from the family of 1991 Canadian Horse of the Year Dance Smartly will be stretching out another eighth of a mile for the King’s Plate. He could improve in his third race after returning from a nine-month layoff and his second try around two turns, but it’s a major challenge against a stronger group.

4. Imyourmedicineman (20-1)

Jockey: Luis Contreras

Trainer: Harold Ladouceur

Owners: Oh Em Gee Stable and Ad Noir LLC

Career record: 7 starts – 1 win – 2 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $85,873

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 93

Pedigree: Shaman Ghost – Silent Sparkle, by Silent Name

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer

Analysis: The bay Shaman Ghost gelding enters the King’s Plate off a career-best effort when he rallied from 10^th and more than eight lengths off the pace to finish second by a length in the 1 1/8-mile Plate Trial Stakes July 19 at Woodbine. Imyourmedicineman improved his career-best Equibase Speed Figure by eight points to a 93 in that race as a 28.50-1 longshot. Prior to the Plate Trial, he had posted his lone win setting the pace and has employed pressing, stalking, and closing tactics throughout his seven career starts. One would think two-time King’s Plate winner Luis Contreras will try to replicate the Plate Trial using one late, sustained run under Imyourmedicineman, which probably would give him the best shot at a top-three finish.

Michael Burns photo

5. Dixie Law (10-1)

Jockey: Pietro Moran

Trainer: Dale Desruisseaux

Owner: Hillsbrook Farms

Career record: 8 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 1 third

Career earnings: $410,739

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 90

Pedigree: Tiz the Law – Bit of Dixie, by Union Rags

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: A three-time stakes-winning filly, Dixie Law enters the King’s Plate off a runner-up finish to Luster in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks Presented by Stella Artois July 19. The bay Tiz the Law filly will try to turn the tables on Luster, who defeated her by 5 ½ lengths in the Woodbine Oaks and by 1 ¾ lengths June 27 in the Grade 3 Selene Stakes. Dixie Law won the Grade 3 Mazarine Stakes Presented by Ketel One by 1 ¼ lengths going 1 1/16 miles last fall and opened the year with a stakes win at Woodbine at seven furlongs, so she has a proven track record on the all-weather Tapeta Footings surface and jockey Pietro Moran won the King’s Plate last year aboard Mansetti. Dixie Law is one of two entrants for trainer Dale Desruisseaux, who has never had a King's Plate starter, and profiles as strong candidate for a top-three finish, but Luster looks like the more likely winner coming out of the Woodbine Oaks. 

Don Ique, inside (Coady Media)

6. Don Ique (30-1)

Jockey: Emma-Jayne Wilson

Trainer: Josie Carroll

Owner: Mike Cooke

Career record: 7 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $47,851

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 86

Pedigree: Astern – Iquique, by Cacique

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Stalker/closer

Analysis: The Astern colt showed speed in his two races on grass but has rallied from off the pace in all five starts on the main track, including his last three on the all-weather surface at Woodbine. Don Ique profiles as a longshot for the King’s Plate. Although he won his season debut by a length in a 1 1/16-mile race on the Woodbine main track, he’s been well beaten in two subsequent races, finishing ninth of 10 at 36.85-1 odds in a 1 1/8-mile allowance-optional claiming race in June and fifth, beaten by six lengths, in the Plate Trial Stakes at the same distance July 19. Jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson won this race in 2007 aboard Mike Fox and trainer Josie Carroll became the first woman to train a King’s Plate winner among three wins in the classic, but the best-case scenario for Don Ique might be a very fast pace that sets him up to pass tiring horses for a minor award.

Coady Media

7. Magical Factor (10-1)

Jockey: Jose Campos

Trainer: Rachel Halden

Owner: Chiefswood Stables Limited

Career record: 5 starts – 1 win – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $82,260

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 100

Pedigree: The Factor – Think Magic, by Malibu Moon

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Magical Factor won one turf race in three starts in the U.S. before shipping north to Canada and showing improved form on Woodbine’s all-weather main track. He earned a career-best 100 Equibase Speed Figure (tops in this field) for a runner-up finish in a 1 1/16-mile allowance-optional claiming race May 23 and followed with another second in the Grade 3 Marine Stakes, beaten by a half-length (after leading in the stretch) by King’s Plate entrant Brachetto. Magical Factor is a stakes-quality 3-year-old with tactical speed, but stretching out an additional three-sixteenths of a mile after being caught late in in the Marine is a legitimate concern. Owner Chiefswood Stable won this race in 2004 with Niigon.

Michael Burns photo

8. Highwaytothemoon (6-1)

Jockey: Rafael Hernandez

Trainer: Dale Desruisseaux

Owner: Centennial Farms (Niagara) Inc.

Career record: 7 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 1 third

Career earnings: $253,080

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 95

Pedigree: Ransom the Moon – High Society Gal, by Society's Chairman

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace/pacesetter

Analysis: The bay Ransom the Moon gelding has won three of four starts this season with the lone defeat a runner-up finish to fellow King’s Plate contender Casson in the seven-furlong King Corrie Stakes May 17. Since then, he led from start to finish to win the Queenston Stakes at the same distance on Woodbine’s all-weather Tapeta Footings surface and then stretched out to 1 1/8 miles and rallied from fourth to win the Plate Trial Stakes by a length while posting a career-top 95 Equibase Speed Figure. Highwaytothemoon has four wins, a second, and one third in six races on the all-weather main track at Woodbine and the lone unplaced finished of his career came on grass, so he profiles as a leading win contender under three-time King’s Plate winner Rafael Hernandez.

Michael Burns photo

9. Brachetto (5-1)

Jockey: Ryan Munger

Trainer: Julia Carey

Owners: Dr. Ross A. McKague and Brenda McKague

Career record: 5 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $122,409

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 95

Pedigree: Vekoma – Colorino, by Include

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker/closer

Analysis: After finishing in the top three in a pair of starts at age 2, Brachetto has emerged as a quality 3-year-old in 2026 with two wins and a third in three starts. After a maiden win sprinting May 10, he finished third in the seven-furlong Queenston Stakes on the all-weather surface at Woodbine. Trainer Julia Carey next tried him around two turns in the 1 1/16-mile, Grade 3 Marine Stakes and the Vekoma colt rallied from sixth to win by a half-length at 18.30-1 odds while earning a new career-best 95 Equibase Speed Figure. A win contender based on his graded stakes win around two turns on this surface, but expect a much shorter price than 18-1 on Brachetto in the King’s Plate.

10. Very Special (30-1)

Jockey: Romero Maragh

Trainer: Kevin Attard

Owner: Stronach Stables

Career record: 3 starts – 0 wins – 1 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $27,181

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 84

Pedigree: Ghostzapper – Crowning Jewel, by Into Mischief

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: The bay Ghostzapper colt is one of two entrants for trainer Kevin Attard, who has won the last two editions of the King’s Plate and three of the last four. Very Special is facing a massive hurdle in terms of class coming out of a third-place finish in a maiden special weight race and testing the waters in the first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown with nary a victory in three starts. Very Special has finished in the top three in each of his three previous tries, so he has not disgraced himself, but his Equibase Speed Figures indicate he would need to show significant improvement to have any chance in his stakes debut for owner-breeder Stronach Stables, which has won this classic on four previous occasions. Very Special will be jockey Romero Maragh's first mount in this race.

11. Bond Market (30-1)

Jockey: Xarel Forde

Trainer: Carlos Grant

Owner: Polo Management Services

Career record: 1 start – 1 win – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $48,627

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 91

Pedigree: Bond Street – Champagne Dynasty, by Pulpit

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker/press the pace

Analysis: Bond Market won his career debut impressively July 5 at Woodbine, but that victory came in a one-mile turf race and he will be tasked with a surface switch to the all-weather Tapeta Footings main track while navigating an additional quarter-mile. The turf to all-weather switch is much less daunting than dirt to grass, so Bond Market has a decent chance to handle the main track, but the class and distance tests are significant hurdle as he moves up from a maiden special weight race to a Canadian classic while stretching out to 1 ¼ miles. Without much to go on from his past performances, Bond Market profiles as a bit of a wild card under first-time King's Plate jockey Xarel Forde. As such, bettors should demand value on the tote board.

12. Military Time (12-1)

Jockey: Fraser Aebly

Trainer: Mark Casse

Owners: Gary Barber and St. Elias Stable (Vincent Viola)

Career record: 6 starts – 2 wins – 2 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $151,597

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 91

Pedigree: Gun Runner – Red Cabernet, by Signature Red

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker/closer

Analysis: A Gun Runner colt out of Woodbine multiple stakes winner Red Cabernet, by Signature Red, Military Time has performed well against stakes competition but has not yet been able to get over the hump to win one. He sports a record of two wins, two seconds, and a third in five starts on the all-weather surface at Woodbine – his lone unplaced finish to date came on turf – with a trio of top-three finishes in stakes. Military Time enters the King’s Plate off a third-place finish, beaten by three lengths by Highwaytothemoon in the 1 1/8-mile Plate Trial Stakes July 19 for three-time King’s Plate-winning trainer Mark Casse. Based upon pedigree, you would think the longer the better for Military Time, but his two wins to date have come in sprints. This is a tough group he’s facing in search of a breakthrough stakes win, but Military Time is worth a long look for exacta and trifecta tickets. Co-owner Gary Barber has won this race three times alone or in partnership.