Woodbine Executive Chair Jim Lawson / Grand River Raceway’s new Raceway Manager Jenna MacDonell / Woodbine Thoroughbred Trainer Steve Attard

Larry and Ann are joined by Woodbine Executive Chair Jim Lawson, who discusses the planned ‘International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities Global Summit on Equine Safety and Equine Welfare,’ which will be hosted by Woodbine Entertainment from June 12th until the 14th. Jim also discusses the importance of having such a conference that promotes the safety and welfare for the equine athletes and discusses his new role as Executive Chair and what it entails. He also shares whether he is satisfied with the build out on the Woodbine property, to date.  Grand River Raceway’s new Raceway Manager Jenna MacDonell, who discusses the plans so far in place for the track’s Opening Day  on June 5th and whether the new 5/8th’s mile track that the track has built will be ready for Opening Day. She also talks about some of the other special events planned for  the Grand River racing season and  talks about growing up with a Hall of Fame Driver and Trainer for a Father.  Woodbine Thoroughbred Trainer Steve Attard who talks about what it was like to finally get his 500th win as a Trainer at Woodbine and discusses if winning 500 races was actually something that was on his radar for a long period of time. He also talks about being a Trainer for 48 years and what it is like being part of the ‘Attard family’ and mentions in detail the family tree. He also talks about the horse that he won his first race with as a Trainer and where the win took place. In our feature, ‘In Case You Missed It’ A Look at The Way It Was in Horse Racing News, Larry discusses the recent announcement of former Jockey Gunnar Lindberg being named the winner of the prestigious Avelino Gomez Award. In our new regular feature, ‘Road Trip,’ Larry talks about todays Pennine Ridge Stakes at Aqueduct Racecourse and mentions about some of the history behind the race itself and who he believes the race ‘goes through’ later today. He also provides his ‘Ponies Picks of the Day’ selections for several North American Racetracks today, later in the show.

Key Points: 

Jim talks first about the upcoming International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities Global Summit on Equine Safety and Technology from June 12th to the 14th at Woodbine Racetrack and the importance of having such a conference that promotes the safety and welfare of the equine athletes. Jim also talks about some of the topics that the Summit will examine, including the most critical horse welfare issues as well as recent technological advances. Jim mentions too about his new role at Woodbine as Executive Chair and whether he misses his former role as CEO and if he is satisfied with the status of the Woodbine build-out so far. He also talks about why he is extremely excited about this years King’s Plate and how he believes Woodbine should be able to sell 15 to 20,000 tickets, prior to the day itself. Jim also mentions why he is looking forward to some of the stake’s races coming up shortly at Woodbine, which are ‘prep races’ for the August King’s Plate.

Jenna discusses the status of Grand River’s Opening Day and how plans have moved forward in the construction of their new 5/8th’s mile racetrack. On this topic Jenna also mentions what the response has been so far from the horsemen who have been training over the new racing service and also talks about growing up in a harness racing family and the steps she has taken in her career, which included  a stint at Woodbine Entertainment ,before becoming Raceway Manager at Grand River. She is also asked if her Hall of Fame Driver/Trainer Paul, encouraged her to apply for the new role and discusses why she gave up a successful Real Estate career to ‘throw her hat in the ring’ for the position of Raceway Manager. She also mentions some of the major race days at Grand River this season, including the extremely popular ‘Wiener Dog Races’ and Industry Day in August and   mentions what was the best advice her Hall of Fame Father gave her before working in the harness racing industry. 

Steve talks about winning his 500th race at Woodbine recently with the horse Lantana Lady and the story behind the win, where his sister found an issue with the record keeping company Equibase, where some of Steve’s Training wins were   credited to his uncle, Sid. Steve also discusses his 48-year Training Career and recalls his first win as a Trainer and talks about what it is like to be part of the famed ‘Attard Racing family’ and mentions the many members that make up the family. He also discusses how he became a full time Trainer and talks about the 2024 season and some of the horses that his is optimistic for. He also says that 2024 is different for him as he has more two-year-olds in training then before.