The Ontario Jockey Club (OJC) was founded in 1881 to improve the quality of horse racing in the city of Toronto.
William Hendrie, president of the Ontario Jockey Club and of the Hendrie Co., Limited, was a railway promoter and capitalist who was the founder of one of the most prominent families in the history of
Thoroughbred racing in Canada. With the creation of the
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1976, Hendrie was elected to the Builders category. During the 19th century, the city of Toronto had several racetracks. The OJC operated from the original Woodbine track on Queen Street East, which later became known as
Greenwood. In 1953,
E. P. Taylor became president of the Ontario Jockey Club. During his term, Taylor bought out competing tracks, making the OJC the largest operation in the province, starting with the
Thorncliffe Park Raceway. In 1955, the OJC bought out the
Dufferin Park Racetrack and the
Long Branch Racetrack from the
Orpen family. These tracks were closed and their important stakes races were moved to the new Woodbine track, which opened in 1956. Hamilton and Stamford tracks were also bought and closed. In 1962, the club bought out the
Fort Erie Racetrack, and OJC tracks thus held all three races of the Canadian Triple Crown. In 1963, the OJC opened the
Mohawk harness racing track in
Campbellville, Ontario. As other gambling was gradually legalized in Ontario, horse racing declined. In 1996, the
Greenwood facility was closed and developed as a housing subdivision. The Government of Ontario, introducing more sport lotteries, starting installing gambling machines in race tracks and installed a gaming room at Woodbine, known as Casino Woodbine. In 2001, the Ontario Jockey Club changed its name to Woodbine Entertainment Group to reflect its expanded focus. In 2007, Woodbine's harness racing operations were moved to Mohawk. In 2012, the Fort Erie Racetrack was threatened with closure when it was unable to add slot machines. WEG operated the track for one more season, then sold the track in 2014. The casino at Woodbine, operated by Ontario Lotteries, was transferred to
Great Canadian Gaming Corporation in 2018. ==C spring barouche landau==