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Skaltorix

Rexdale · Etobicoke · Toronto

Woodbine Racetrack, from the paddock rail to the fourth-floor windows

Skaltorix is an independent reference on one location: the Woodbine grounds on Rexdale Boulevard. What the racing season looks like, what stands on the property today, where the dining rooms sit inside the grandstand, and how visitors actually get there.

Racing & heritage Plan a visit
The Woodbine grandstand seen across the entrance lawn in Toronto, with the WOODBINE lettering above the glass facade
The grandstand and entrance lawn seen from the visitor plaza. Photo: 水野 航平, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Reference points

The location in short

Figures below describe the venue and the published 2026 Thoroughbred season. Anything time-sensitive — post times, seasonal openings, event dates — should be confirmed on the venue's own site before travelling.

Address

555 Rexdale Blvd, Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario — the western edge of the city, close to Toronto Pearson.

Grandstand opened

1956, replacing the original 1874 Woodbine on Queen Street East.

Racing surfaces

Three ovals: a one-mile Tapeta main track (surfaced in 2016), the mile-and-a-half E.P. Taylor Turf Course (1994), and a seven-furlong inner turf course.

2026 season

18 April to 13 December, 128 race dates. Weekends only for the first three weeks, Fridays added 8 May and Thursdays 11 June.

Marquee dates, 2026

167th King's Plate on 15 August, the Woodbine Mile on 12 September, and the Canadian International on 3 October.

Getting in

General admission and on-site parking carry no charge, according to the venue's own visitor information — see our visiting notes.

Four reference pages

What this site covers

  1. 01 Racing & heritage The King's Plate — run since 1860, carried under that name again since 2023 — the move from Queen Street East to Rexdale in 1956, the arrival of the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, and the mid-century grandstand that still frames the finish line. Read page 01
  2. 02 The trackside hotel An eleven-storey, roughly 400-room hotel opened on the property in June 2023, connected indoors to the grandstand and facing the turf course. What that proximity is worth on a busy race day, and what to check before booking. Read page 02
  3. 03 Dining inside the grandstand Four floors, four very different rooms: the food court on the concourse, an event lounge on the second, an open-air covered terrace on the third, and the à la carte dining rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows on the fourth. Read page 03
  4. 04 Visiting notes The 37 Islington bus from the subway, Malton GO on the Kitchener line, MiWay from Square One, parking, accessibility, weather through a long season, and what a first afternoon at the rail tends to look like. Read page 04

Seven decades on Rexdale

How the grounds took their present shape

  • 1860

    The first running of the Plate takes place at the Carleton track in Toronto. The race has been held every year since, making it the oldest continuously run Thoroughbred race in North America.

  • 1874

    The original Woodbine opens on Queen Street East, near the lake. It hosts the Plate for decades before the name moves west with the sport.

  • 1956

    The current grandstand opens on Rexdale Boulevard: a long, cantilevered mid-century structure with tiered decks facing the stretch, still the building visitors walk into today.

  • 1994

    The E.P. Taylor Turf Course opens outside the main oval — a mile and a half of grass named for the horseman who shaped Canadian racing in the twentieth century.

  • 2016

    The main oval is surfaced with Tapeta, a synthetic all-weather surface that holds up better than dirt through the shoulder months of a season that now runs into December.

  • 2023

    Two changes in one year: a hotel opens on the grounds in June, and the Plate is run under its historical name — the King's Plate — for the first time since 1951.

From the archives

The grandstand in its first decades

Three photographs from the Archives of Ontario, taken in the years after the Rexdale grounds opened. The roofline and tiered decks in them are the same ones standing today.

Mounted riders in ceremonial dress lined up on the track in front of a packed Woodbine grandstand
A ceremonial mounted display on the track before a full grandstand. Archives of Ontario, RG 65-35 tourism promotion photographs, Open Government Licence – Ontario.
Horses racing down the Woodbine stretch past a crowded three-tier grandstand
The field in the stretch, with the three tiers of the new grandstand behind. Archives of Ontario, Open Government Licence – Ontario.
Elevated view of the Woodbine walking ring and grounds with a large crowd on a race afternoon
The walking ring and grounds on a race afternoon, seen from the grandstand. Archives of Ontario, Open Government Licence – Ontario.

Common questions

Before you go

When does racing actually happen?

The 2026 Thoroughbred season was published as 18 April to 13 December, with 128 race dates. It starts on weekends only, adds Fridays on 8 May and Thursdays on 11 June, so a midweek trip earlier in the spring may find no live card at all. Post times shift by day and by month, so check the venue's own calendar for the date you have in mind.

Is the King's Plate the same race as the Queen's Plate?

Yes. The race has been run since 1860 and takes its name from the reigning monarch: Queen's Plate from 1952 to 2022, King's Plate again from 2023. The 167th running is scheduled for 15 August 2026. Older signage and photographs around the grounds still carry the previous name.

Can you reach the track without a car?

Yes. The TTC's 37 Islington bus runs from Islington subway station on Line 2 to a stop by the main entrance, all day, every day. GO Transit's Kitchener line stops at Malton, the closest station, and MiWay buses connect from Mississauga. Our visiting notes go through each option.

Do you need a table in one of the dining rooms?

Not at all — the concourse food court and the rail are open to general admission. The fourth-floor dining rooms and the third-floor terrace are worth booking ahead on marquee dates, and some rooms open only on selected feature days through the season. See our dining page.

Does Skaltorix sell tickets, rooms or tables?

No. This site takes no bookings, sells nothing, and receives no commission from the venue or from any hotel or restaurant mentioned. It is an independent reference compiled from public sources.

Independent, and not affiliated

Skaltorix is published independently by Tomás Henriques and has no connection to Woodbine Entertainment Group or to any operator on the property. Names and marks belong to their respective owners and are used here for identification only. For schedules, hours and current site policies, the venue's own website at woodbine.com is the authoritative source; questions about this site can go to our contact page.