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King's Plate, Canadian Triple Crown, Woodbine, horse racing, America's Best Racing, ABR

2026 King’s Plate Cheat Sheet

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.

Sandy Hawley is one of the most talented jockeys in horse racing history despite never winning a Triple Crown race.

Sandy Hawley: Overnight Sensation, Lasting Legend

In the sport of horse racing, a great deal of emphasis is placed on winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes, the three races that comprise the coveted U.S. Triple Crown.

Almost as much attention is paid to the Breeders’ Cup, the 14-race extravaganza that serves as the year-end championship of U.S. horse racing.

Sovereignty, Whitney Stakes, Saratoga Race Course, Breeders' Cup Classic, horse racing, America's Best Racing, ABR

Buy or Sell on the Road to Breeders’ Cup: Evaluating Sovereignty’s Whitney Stakes Win

A fever knocked Sovereignty out of a planned start last fall in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic but he nonetheless took home Eclipse Awards as Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male based on a resume of five wins and one second in six 2025 starts, including a pair of victories in Triple Crown races.

Ouija Board, Frankie Dettori, Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, America's Best Racing, horse racing, ABR

A True International Superstar of the Turf: Breeders’ Cup Legend Ouija Board

In 2024, nearly 17,000 Thoroughbreds were born in North America, while England and Ireland welcomed a little more than 13,000 foals. Of those, less than half will win a race in their lifetime, while approximately 3% will win a stakes, and an even smaller percentage, less than 1%, will win a graded stakes. Imagine the odds of an English classic and Breeders’ Cup victor foaling a Derby winner who then sires classic and Breeders’ Cup winners of his own?

2026 Whitney Stakes, Saratoga Race Course, Fourstardave Stakes, Sovereignty, Deterministic

Sovereignty Packs a Wallop in Whitney Stakes Win, Deterministic is Tops on Turf

Rebounding from a pair of losses to begin his 4-year-old campaign, reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty closed from the back of the pack to wallop the opposition in the $1 million Grade 1 Whitney Stakes Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course.

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