2024 Queen’s Plate Betting Odds

The race formerly known as the King’s Plate from 1901 to 1952 is now the Queen’s Plate due to the change of the reigning monarch when Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne.

It is Canada’s oldest thoroughbred horse race having continuously run since it was founded in 1860.

The race is run over 1¼ miles with a maximum of 17 three-year-olds. However, the Queen’s Plate field is limited to horses foaled in Canada. It is run normally in June or July at Woodbine in Ontario.

The race is the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, which also encompasses the Prince of Wales Stakes and Breeders’ Stakes.

At the beginning of the 20^th Century, there was a boom in horse racing’s popularity and these races still attract huge crowds and betting turnover today.

Here we look at betting the Queen’s Plate 2023 in detail before giving a few pointers on how to find a value bet.

Current Top 5 Favourites To Win The Queen’s Plate

The horse betting odds are now available for betting on the 2023 Queen’s Plate. The Queens Plate 2023 contenders are looking strong this year, with several horses placing in the Top 3 of their previous races. Find the best odds for the Queen’s Plate at Daily Racing Form (DRF) below.

Horse	Odds	DRF
Moira	2-1	Bet Here!
Rondure	3-1	Bet Here!
Causin’ Mayhem	5-1	Bet Here!
Duke of Love	6-1	Bet Here!
Ironstone	8-1	Bet Here!
Sir For Sure	10-1	Bet Here!
Hall of Dreams	12-1	Bet Here!
The Minkster	15-1	Bet Here!
Hunt Master	18-1	Bet Here!
Shamateur	20-1	Bet Here!

Queen’s Plate

Despite the name of the race the winning owner now takes home a gold cup rather than a plate, but when the race was first introduced in 1860 the prize was indeed a plate up to the value of 50 guineas.

Back in 1860, the race was restricted to three-year-olds bred in Canada that had never won a Stakes race, and there was a heat format to it.

A horse had to win two heats in order to be declared a winner but like so many other races the conditions have evolved over time.

Heat racing was discontinued in 1879 and Stakes winners were able to compete, along with two-year-olds and older horses around the turn of the 20^th century.

As mentioned, the race is now restricted to three-year-olds foaled in Canada, with owners having to pay a nomination fee in February ($500), a second subscription fee in May ($1,500), and a final entry fee in June ($10,000).

The race is always held at Woodbine racetrack in Ontario which in 2016 was converted to a Tapeta surface, a form of artificial dirt.

This is certainly something to bear in mind when looking to place a bet on the event.

Betting Strategy For The Queen’s Plate

The Queen’s Plate is not a handicap, meaning all horses carry level weights, so it is very much a case of finding that one horse with superstar potential.

Form

Finding winners in these big races can sometimes be easy when there is a potential superstar in the Queen’s Plate 2022 field and sometimes difficult when there doesn’t appear to be a standout winner.

With such good prize money on offer, the esteem of landing one of Canada’s most famous races, and with it being a Stakes race, it attracts the very best three-year-olds Canada has to offer.

Therefore, it’s a race for which studying the ‘form’ is key. This is essentially looking back through a horse’s career results, notably their most recent few, and seeing how they have got on.

It’s not an exact science and there are occasions when a horse that is totally out of ‘form’ roars back ‘into form’ and wins out of the blue. But more often than not, it’s a wise move to look to horses that have been running well.

There are, of course, some anomalies that can occur but looking at a horse’s form should be the first place to start when placing a punt on a race.

Surface

Ground surfaces are one of the most important considerations when betting on horse racing, especially on races run on an all-weather surface like the Queen’s Plate.

Knowing an individual horse’s ability to run to its best on a variety of different surfaces is essential before placing a bet.

Surfaces can vary widely and it’s particularly important to consider when the race is held on a surface like Tapeta which is not that common.

It’s crucial to understand whether your chosen horse will be suited to the conditions of the all-weather surface or not.

This can be judged by whether the horse has already run on the surface before, how it performed, or whether it has performed well on a surface similar.

It can be best practice to look for horses that have performed to their highest level on that type of surface in the past.

Look For Horses That Have Run Well At This Level

The Queen’s Plate is a Stakes race and not only has the prestige of being part of the Triple Crown but it also means that the field will be made up of the best horses in Canada. Finding a horse that has previously run well in a Stakes race proves that you are placing a bet on a horse that has the ability to compete in a race like the Queen’s Plate.

The importance of siding with a horse with experience and a significant level of ability when placing a bet on the Queen’s Plate can be crucial.

The last thing you want to see from your chosen pick is that it looks like a fish out of water when lining up with the best horses in Canada.

Notable Queen’s Plate Winners

There can be no more famous winner of this race than the equine legend that is Northern Dancer.

The Canadian-bred Northern Dancer became the first of Canadian heritage to win the Kentucky Derby in 1964, before going on to become one of the most successful sires of the 20^th century.

He is widely considered a Canadian icon and was duly conducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1965.

His racing CV is as impeccable as his stud career.

Having been crowned Canadian Champion two-year-old he went into his three-year-old season as a leading contender for the Kentucky Derby having won the Flamingo Stakes, Florida Derby, and Blue Grass Stakes.

He duly obliged for his connections with a record-setting victory in the Kentucky Derby before landing the Preakness Stakes.

Unfortunately, he could only manage third in the Belmont Stakes, putting to bed his chances of an American Triple Crown.

However, his story wasn’t over with that, returning home to a hero’s welcome in Canada, he was able to bow out of his glittering career with a win in the Queen’s Plate.

Northern Dancer retired to stud in 1965 where he quickly became one of the most successful and sought-after stallions of his time.

As a sire of sires, his impact is still felt the world over today.

Popular Horse Racing Bets

For any horse race, the type of bet you place is an important consideration. This is because every race market is different, due to the number of horses running and the odds of those horses.

Knowing the best bet to place in different circumstances can improve your chance of winning.

There are many different types of bets on horse racing. When deciding to bet on a horse it is important to note this as it can occur that a horse doesn’t need to win for you to make money.

The most common bet is a straight, or win, bet which is when you are putting money on something to happen. So, in the case of horse racing, you are betting on a horse to win the specific race, or ‘on the nose’ as is commonly referred to.

A slight variation of a straight is an each-way bet. This is where you are betting on a horse in both the win and place markets. This is a good bet for when there are a lot of horses running in a race because the chance of finding a winner is less and the odds reflect this.

An example of one such race is the Queen’s Plate where there is a maximum of 17 runners, enabling you to find a bit of value amongst the field and hopefully take advantage of extra places on offer.

As such, you can quite often win money even if your selection doesn’t actually win the race. Bookies often offer a huge number of places on certain races, so there is plenty of scope for each-way punters.

Another common wager type is a forecast. This requires you to pick the first and second-placed horses in a race. This can be a straight exacta which is the 1-2 in the correct order, or a reverse forecast which is where it doesn’t matter which order the selected horses finish in.

The final commonly-used bet type is a tricast. The premise of this is to back the three horses that finish first, second and third in a selected race.

This is obviously very tricky so the pay-outs for punters are normally appealing. Punters can also play a combination tricast, where you have to select the first three home in any order.

Another form of bet that may appeal to the more patient punter is for a horse to land the Triple Crown ahead of the Queen’s Plate.

With the Queen’s Plate being the first leg of the Triple Crown there can be the opportunity to pick out a potential superstar in the field that could go on to make history and make some money for yourself!