August 15, 2023
TORONTO — The $1 million King’s Plate is the first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown as well as that country’s oldest Thoroughbred horse race. Founded in 1860, the King’s Plate is the oldest continuously run race in North America.
Held as the Queen’s Plate from 1952 to 2022 in honor of then-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II, the race was renamed the King’s Plate for 2023 after the accession of King Charles III following his mother’s passing Sept. 8, 2022.
Twelve horses have swept the Canadian Triple Crown races (although the Triple Crown was not officially established until 1959), which is comprised of the King’s/Queen’s Plate, Prince of Wales Stakes, and Breeders’ Stakes: Queensway (1932), Archworth (1939), Uttermost (1945), Ace Marine (1955), Canadian Champ (1956), New Providence (1959), Canebora (1963), With Approval (1989), Izvestia (1990), Dance Smartly (1991), Peteski (1993), and Wando (2003). Queensway and Dance Smartly are two of the 38 fillies to prevail in the Queen’s Plate, with the most recent female winner being Moira last year.
Read the full story by Mike Curry here.