Restricted race | |
Location | Woodbine Racetrack Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
---|---|
Inaugurated | 1937 |
Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
Website | Woodbine Racetrack |
Race information | |
Distance | 1+1⁄16 miles (8.5 furlongs) |
Surface | Turf |
Track | Left-handed |
Qualification | Two-year-olds foaled in Canada |
Weight | Allowances |
Purse | $193,125 (2015) |
The Cup and Saucer Stakes is a thoroughbred horse race held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Open to two-year-old horses foaled in Canada, it is currently run at a distance of 1+1⁄16 miles on turf. Along with its dirt race counterpart, the Coronation Futurity Stakes, the Cup and Saucer Stakes is the richest race for two-year-olds foaled in Canada.
The race was first run on October 13, 1937 at Toronto's now-defunct Long Branch Racetrack. It was originally known as Mrs. Orpen's Cup and Saucer Handicap, named after the track owner Abe Orpen's wife.[1] It held that name until 1947 when it was renamed the Orpen Cup and Saucer Handicap. It was changed to its current name in 1949.
The race was run from 1937 to 1952 on dirt at a distance of 1 mile 70 yards.[2] World War II consolidations saw the race shifted to the Dufferin Park Racetrack from 1942 to 1945 before returning to Long Branch in 1946. In 1953, the racing distance was increased to 1+1⁄16 miles and remained at that distance after moving to the new Woodbine Racetrack in 1956. Converted to a turf race in 1959, the Cup and Saucer Stakes was raced at 1+1⁄8 miles from 1973 to 1982 but then reverted to its 1+1⁄16 miles in 1983.
The 1963 running was notable for who did not win as the future U.S. and Canadian Hall Of Famer Northern Dancer finished second. In the 1980s, Sam-Son Farm and their trainer James E. "Jim" Day came to dominate this event.