Prince of Wales card stacked for Triple Crown run at Fort Erie Race Track
Fort Erie’s signature event shaping up to have strong field of contenders, including King’s Plate winner
Nominations for the 88th Prince of Wales Stakes, the second race for the Canadian Triple Crown, have closed and the card is shaping up to be its strongest in decades. The $400,000 stakes will hit the dirt oval at Fort Erie Race Track on Sept. 12 with what looks to be a full field.
When nominations closed on Aug. 29, a total of 11 different horses had their ticket punched to the big dance at the track’s signature event. This list was packed with heavy hitters, including Paramount Prince, who won the first leg of the Triple Crown at the King’s Plate at Woodbine on Aug. 20. After the King’s Plate victory, Paramount Prince will need to win the Prince of Wales Stakes to keep the Canadian Triple Crown run going.
“It’s been a full two decades since the last horse, Wando, captured the Triple Crown back in 2003,” said Fort Erie Race Track’s communication manager, James Culic. “The Stakes card is jammed with great horses, but Paramount Prince really put on an impressive display at the King’s Plate, so I think he has a genuine shot at keeping the Canadian Triple Crown dream run going in Fort Erie.” To do that, Paramount Prince will have to fend off challenges from familiar faces like Stanley House, Velocitor, Cool Kiss, Twin City, Morstachy’s, and Kaukokaipuu, all of whom ran in the King’s Plate and are nominated for the Prince of Wales Stakes as well. The nomination card was rounded out by Armaline, Ottawa, Stanhonor Goodside, and Tiburon.
If all 11 horses remain in good health and make it to the gate on Sept. 12, it will be the largest Prince of Wales Stakes card in two decades. This despite ongoing challenges with horse supply constraints in Ontario.
Live racing for the big event begins at 1 p.m., with the Prince of Wales Stakes hitting the oval later that afternoon. The track will have food trucks on hand to keep the crowd fed as they take in the Prince of Wales, and the four other stakes races that day, including the Molson Cup, Le Cinquieme Essai Cup, The Rondeau Bay Stakes, and The Lake Erie Stakes. The race card for the 88th Prince of Wales Stakes will be finalized on Sept. 7 during the draw for post positions, which will be live streamed to the track’s YouTube page.
Admission and parking to the Stakes are free, and for those who can’t make it in person, The Prince of Wales Stakes will once again be broadcast live on TSN.
Veteran jockey Justin Stein hoists the trophy after winning the Prince of Wales Stakes last year. Nominations have closed for the 88th Prince of Wales Stakes in Fort Erie on Sept. 12.
-Photo courtesy Michael Burns Photography
