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Honourary drawmaster and Olympic gold medalist Alexandre Bilodeau at the 151st Queen's Plate post position draw.  • Queen's Plate Barbeque

Date: 07/01/10

RESULTS ARE HERE!

The post positions for Sunday's $1 million Queen's Plate Stakes were selected during a special breakfast ceremony on Thursday morning. Connections, media, and officials gathered in the large tree-shaded walking ring on Canada Day, under sunny skies with a light breeze and the temperature around 70. This year marks the 151st edition of the Plate, the oldest continuously-run stakes race in North America, and Queen Elizabeth II will come to Woodbine as part of her 9-day Royal Tour of Canada, to present the 50 guineas, a tradition that dates back to Queen Victoria. The Plate is the premier race for Canadian-foaled 3-year-olds, the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, and is contested at 1 1/4 miles over the Polytrack at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto. Colts and geldings carry the standard weight of 126 pounds while fillies Roan Inish and Moment of Majesty each get a 5 pound allowance.

The crowd at the post position draw with jockey Emile Ramsammy on the right in his Canada Day outfit.

Selection order is determined using a double-blind random draw of numbered pills and entry forms. This year, Alexandre Bilodeau assisted racing secretary Steve Lym and track announcer Dan Loiselle in drawing the order. Bilodeau, by winning the gold medal in men's moguls at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, is the first Canadian to win Olympic gold on Canadian soil. In a short interview with Loiselle, he described his Olympic experience, how he got into the sport, and his brother Frederic who has cerebral palsy and inspires him every day to train hard. Other than his gold medal, his most memorable moments at the Olympics were Joannie Rochette's short program in women's figure skating, and playing table tennis against Canadian hockey hero Sidney Crosby in the Olympic village. Bilodeau stopped in Toronto on his way to Whistler, British Columbia to resume training in preparation for the 2010-2011 freestyle ski season.

Trainer Mark Frostad and Michael Balaz of Sam Son Farms pick post 11 for favorite Hotep

After a 5 minute discussion period, a representative for each horse has 90 seconds to come up on stage to select the post, by hanging the owner's colors on the board. Track announcer Dan Loiselle briefly interviewed the trainer or owner who made the selection.

Owner-breeder Sam-Son Farm have three horses in the Plate, led by 3-1 morning line favorite Hotep. Trainer Mark Frostad picked post 11 with the 8th selection. Michael Balaz, son of owner Rick Balaz said, "I don't want to get him trapped on the inside. Get him to relax some more. " Frostad added, "We're looking for pace scenario, and our 3 horses are complementary. (Hotep) gets on his toes in the saddling paddock. He just wants to get out there. So we'll get him settled down and he'll be there at the end."

Trainer Roger Attfield, looking to be the first to win 9 Queen's Plates, picked post 9 for 7-2 second choice Mobilizer with the 6th selection. Attfield said, "He ran a good race in the Trial on the inside. If he improves a little bit from there we should be in this one. Sometimes when a horse gets stuck on the rail it antagonizes them, so this post should help him. Usually he prefers to be outside." Asked which horse is the one to beat, he quipped, "There's 12 of them in there. They're all good, it's a competitive race."

Trainer Carolyn Costigan and her father Robert Costigan, the owner of filly Roan Inish, after they selected post 10.

Woodbine Oaks winner Roan Inish is looking to become the first female Plate winner since Dancethruthedawn in 2001. Trainer Carolyn Costigan, daughter of owner-breeder Robert Costigan, picked post 10 for the 9-2 third choice with the 4th selection. Carolyn said, "She's gutsy. We gave her some nice long jogs since the Oaks, and worked once. She's matured enough now that she knows what to do. She's galloping very strongly into the Plate. I don't have any concerns (against males), just hope she gets a clean trip and makes the most of the opportunity. She's something special and I look forward to racing her both north and south of the border."

Post time for the Plate will be 5:38pm ET on Sunday July 4 and the race will be televised on CBC in high definition from 4:30 - 6:00. The full card will be simulcast to many locations throughout North America, and be broadcast on TVG in America and HPI in Canada. The Plate will be carded as race 10, and there are two stakes races on the turf for older horses on the undercard, the $200,000 Highlander Stakes presented by Ricoh (G2) at 6 furlongs and the $150,000 Singspiel Stakes (G3) at 1 1/2 miles. Free past performances are available from BRISnet.com and full profiles for each horse are available here.

Queen's Plate Poll Who will win the Queen's Plate? Big Red Mike Dark Cloud Dancer D's Wando Ghost Fleet Giant's Tomb Hotep Mobilizer Mobthewarrior Moment of Majesty Roan Inish Smart Sky Vicar Street Who We Gunna Call

Honourary drawmaster Alexandre Bilodeau shows off his gold medal while he gets a kiss from jockeys Emma-Jayne Wilson (left) and Chantal Sutherland (right).

The post positions for the 2010 Queen's Plate

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