The Canadian Maturity Stakes was a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

 run annually in late November at Woodbine Racetrack

Woodbine Racetrack

Woodbine Racetrack is a Canadian racetrack for Thoroughbred horse races located at 555 Rexdale Blvd. in the city of Toronto, Ontario. It is the only horseracing track in North America which stages, or is capable of staging, thoroughbred and standardbred horseracing programs on the same day...

 in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

. Inaugurated in 1953, http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/473982971.html?dids=473982971:473982971&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+23%2C+1988&author=Tom+Slater+Toronto+Star&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Maturity+race+has+a+big+purse+but+little+talent&pqatl=google the race was restricted to four-year-old horses bred in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It was contested on turf

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

 over a distance of a mile and a quarter (10 furlong

Furlong

A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....

s).

At a time when Thoroughbreds regularly ran on both dirt and turf, the Canadian Maturity Stakes attracted the best four-year-olds in Canada. However, by the late 1980s that situation had changed dramatically and by the time of the 1994 running, it attracted a field of only four horses. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/518313321.html?dids=518313321:518313321&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+30%2C+1994&author=John+Chunn+TORONTO+STAR&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Game+filly+steps+up+in+company&pqatl=google

The Canadian Maturity Stakes was won for five consecutive years between 1990 and 1994 by Sam-Son Farm

Sam-Son Farm

Sam-Son Farm is a thoroughbred horse racing stable with farms locations in Milton, Ontario, Canada and Ocala, Florida. Originating in the 60's by Ernie Samuel, it began as a home for hunter/jumper horses...

 and Hall of Fame

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....

 trainer, Jim Day. Sam-Son Farm and Day also won in 1983. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/518847311.html?dids=518847311:518847311&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+19%2C+1993&author=Rick+Fraser+TORONTO+STAR&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Classic+Reign+zips+to+victory%2C+breaks+Maturity+Stakes+mark&pqatl=google

Records

Speed record: (Through 1998, Woodbine times were recorded in fifths of a second. Since 1999 they are in hundredths of a second)

• 2:00.20 - Classic Reign (1993) http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/518847311.html?dids=518847311:518847311&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+19%2C+1993&author=Rick+Fraser+TORONTO+STAR&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Classic+Reign+zips+to+victory%2C+breaks+Maturity+Stakes+mark&pqatl=google

Most wins by an owner:

• 6 - Sam-Son Farm
  Sam-Son Farm
  Sam-Son Farm is a thoroughbred horse racing stable with farms locations in Milton, Ontario, Canada and Ocala, Florida. Originating in the 60's by Ernie Samuel, it began as a home for hunter/jumper horses...
  
   (1983, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994)

Most wins by a jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

:

• 4 - Robin Platts
  Robin Platts
  Robin Platts is a Canadian thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He began his jockey career at age 16 and went on to become the winner of the 1979 Sovereign Award for Outstanding Jockey, a record four-time winner of Canada's most prestigious horse race, the Queen's Plate, and the...
  
  

Most wins by a trainer

Horse trainer

In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...

:

• 6 - James E. Day (1983, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994)