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Track announcer Dan Loiselle, drawmaster Perdita Felicien, and racing secretary Steve Lym draw the selection order.    Queen's Plate Results and photos    Undercard results and other photos    Post position draw comments    Queen's Plate Preview    Queen's Plate Barbecue Photos

Date: 6/25/04

RESULTS HERE

The Queen's Plate, Canada's equivalent of the Kentucky Derby, will be run this Sunday, June 27, at Woodbine. Thirteen 3-year-olds will go to the post to contest 1 1/4 miles over the main track for the winner's share of the $1,000,000 purse and a chance to be the next Canadian Triple Crown winner. Like in the Derby, all starters will carry 126 pounds.

On Thursday morning, post positions for the big race were selected in the large, tree-shaded walking ring at Woodbine. Like at the Derby, selection order is determined using a random draw of numbered pills. After a five-minute discussion period, each horse's connections had ninety seconds to come up on stage to select the post. After selecting their posts, track announcer and master of ceremonies Dan Loiselle asked each trainer or owner a few questions about why they chose the post they did and what their horse's chances are on Sunday. You can read all of these comments here.

Stewart Elliott

Before the draw was conducted, two special guests were interviewed on stage. First was jockey Stewart Elliott, a native of Toronto who suddenly came into international prominence this spring as the regular rider of Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Smarty Jones. Elliott rode for one season at Woodbine early in his career, and his mother and uncle still work there on the backstretch. He will return "home" to ride Eugene and Laura Melnyk's Long Pond for trainer Mark Casse on Sunday, his first ride here since 1987. When asked what Smarty Jones' greatest quality is, he said simply, "He wins!" Immediately after his appearance Elliott rushed to the airport to fly back to Monmouth Park where he was scheduled to ride in the afternoon.

Perdita Felicien Queen's Plate Poll Who will win the Plate? A Bit O'Gold Alleged Ruler Archer Fleet Copper Trail His Smoothness Just In Case Jimmy Kent Ridge Long Pond Night Sky Niigon Picadilly Bay Silver Ticket Strike Em Hard Will He Crow

Perdita Felicien, the reigning world champion in the 100-meter hurdles and one of Canada's gold medal hopes this summer at the Olympics in Athens, was the honorary drawmaster for the selection order. Before the draw process, she expressed confidence in her chances this summer, especially after defeating four-time Olympic gold medallist Gail Devers in the 60-meter hurdles at the 2004 World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Budapest.

Here are the entrants for the 2004 Queen's Plate with links to a profile for each and their connections along with posts and morning line odds. Free past performances are available here from Daily Racing Form.

Queen's Plate info online:

Stewart Elliott and Perdita Felicien ham it up for the cameras. The first Queen's Plate trophy from 1899 (left) and the current trophy (right) were both on display at the draw.

• Free past performances - from DRF
• Queen's Plate Barbecue Photos - several of the contenders were paraded for the crowd
• Woodbine main page
• Woodbine Stable Notes - mostly Queen's Plate info now and updated frequently
• Queen's Plate Stats and Trivia
• Queen's Plate Trivia Quiz
• Queen's Plate Winners 1860-2002
  • 2003 Results - the winner was Wando who went on to win the Triple Crown
  • 2002 Results - the winner was T J's Lucky Moon
  • 2001 Results - the winner was Dancethruthedawn
  • 2000 Results - the winner was Scatter the Gold
  • 1999 Results - the winner was Woodcarver
• Live Audio/Video from Woodbine
• SLAM! Horse Racing - Canadian horse racing news from the Toronto Sun
• WayMoreSports.com Horse Racing - more Canadian racing news from the Toronto Star
• TSN Horse Racing - more Canadian racing news from The Sports Network
• News Index Search - articles from the various online news sources

All photos ©2004 Cindy Pierson Dulay.

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