| Restricted race | |
 Norcliffe, painted by Bob Demuyser (1920-2003) | |
| Location | Woodbine Racetrack Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1902 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Website | www |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1+1⁄8 miles (9 furlongs) |
| Surface | Tapeta synthetic dirt |
| Track | left-handed |
| Qualification | Two-year-olds foaled in Canada |
| Weight | 122 pounds |
| Purse | Can$250,000[1] |
The Coronation Futurity Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old horses foaled in Canada. It is run annually in mid-November at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at a distance of 1+1⁄8 miles. Along with its turf counterpart, the Cup and Saucer Stakes, the Coronation Futurity is the richest race for two-year-olds foaled in Canada.
Inaugurated in 1902 at Toronto's Old Woodbine Racetrack, it was created in celebration of the August 9, 1902 coronation of Edward VII of the United Kingdom. The winner of the race often becomes the early favorite for next year's Queen's Plate, though the last horse to win both races was Norcliffe in 1975.[2]
The 1963 winner was Northern Dancer who would go on to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and become the most important sire of the 20th century.[2] Of note, his young jockey that day was future Canadian and U.S. Hall of Fame jockey Ron Turcotte who, ten years later, would ride Secretariat to victory in the U.S. Triple Crown series.
Sunny's Halo won the 1982 edition of the Coronation Futurity and went on to win the following year's Kentucky Derby.[2]
Since inception, the Coronation Futurity has been contested at a variety of distances:[3]
- 4 furlongs : 1902–1909 at Old Woodbine Racetrack
- 4+1⁄2 furlongs : 1909–1917 at Old Woodbine Racetrack
- 5 furlongs : 1920–1926 at Old Woodbine Racetrack
- 6 furlongs : 1927–1940 at Old Woodbine Racetrack
- 1 mile : 1941–1948 at Old Woodbine Racetrack
- 1 mile and 70 yards : 1949-1956 Old Woodbine Racetrack, 1957 at the new Woodbine Racetrack
- 1+1⁄16 miles : 1958–1960 at Woodbine Racetrack
- 1+1⁄8 miles : 1961 to present at Woodbine Racetrack
The race was run on a natural dirt surface until Woodbine installed a synthetic dirt surface in 2006. In 2016, the surface was Tapeta;[4] it was Polytrack between 2006 and 2015.
- ^ "Chart of the 2016 Coronation Futurity". equibase.com. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
- ^ a b c "Woodbridge heads competitive Coronation Futurity field of nine". www.woodbineentertainment.com. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
- ^ "Stakes Histories" (PDF). Woodbine Entertainment Group. pp. 29–30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-09-18. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
- ^ "Training begins on Woodbine's new Tapeta surface" (Press release). Toronto, ON: Woodbine Entertainment. 2016-03-18. Retrieved 2016-03-19.