 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2017) |
| Grade II race | |
| Location | Woodbine Racetrack Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
|---|---|
| Inaugurated | 1986 (as Woodbine Handicap) |
| Race type | Thoroughbred – Flat racing |
| Website | Woodbine Racetrack |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1+1⁄16 miles (8.5 furlongs) |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | Three-year-olds & Up |
| Weight | Weight for Age with allowances |
| Purse | $200,000 (2023) |
The Dance Smartly Stakes is a thoroughbred horse race run annually in August at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A Grade II stakes race raced on turf, it is open to fillies and mares three years of age and older and run at 1+1⁄16 miles. Originally known as the Woodbine Handicap, the race was renamed in 1998 for Dance Smartly, the second filly to win the Canadian Triple Crown who went undefeated during the 1991 racing season and was inducted into both the Canadian and United States Racing Hall of Fames.[1]
Inaugurated in 1986, it was raced on dirt through 1989 at a distance of 1+1⁄8 miles. In 1990 it was switched over to the turf course and raced that year at 1+1⁄16 miles after which it remained on the turf but at its original 1+1⁄8 miles. It was lengthened to 1+1⁄4 miles in 2017.[2] In 2022 the race returned to the current distance of 1+1⁄16 miles.
- ^ Clothier, Gary (15 August 2010). "Ask Mr. Know-It-All Beloved crooner is remembered". berkshireeagle.com. United Features Syndicate. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
A Canadian-born thoroughbred champion racehorse, Dance Smartly (1988-2007) won the Canadian Triple Crown in 1991 and is considered one of Canada's greatest racing fillies. The race was inaugurated in 1986 as the Woodbine Handicap; in1998, it was renamed to honor the filly.
- ^ Equibase.com. "Dance Smartly Stakes profile". www.equibase.com. Archived from the original on 2013-07-12. Retrieved 2017-07-03.