Pumpkin Day, Championship Day at Ajax Downs

Thanksgiving Monday at Ajax Downs will be bursting with fun and excitement for all ages with the annual Pumpkin Day, benefiting the United Way, and, on the track, two major stakes races which could decide the Horse of the Year.

The first 100 kids at Ajax Downs on October 12 will receive a pumpkin to decorate, plus fans who donate a gently-used item of clothing or a non-perishable food item will receive a $5 bet.

If you buy a program, you will receive a free t-shirt, and between races, there will be a Turkeys vs. Chickens race with our jockeys in costumes.

Two of 2026's best Quarter Horses are in action on Monday in the 53rd Alex Picov Memorial Championship and the Ontario Sires Stakes Derby. First race post time is 12:55 p.m.

This year's edition of the $49,950 Championship is easily the strongest in years, led by Richard Wincikaby's Ontario-bred 4-year-old Peighntmeadiamond, who is undefeated this season.

Trained by Joe Tavares, Peighntmeadiamond has won two stakes races this year and a win in the Championship over nine tough rivals would make him a strong contender for Horse of the Year.

His competition in the 440-yard test includes 2025 Horse of the Year Had To Be Fabulous, also a two-time stakes winner this year and a candidate for year-end honors, plus fellow champions Snow Moose and Queen Charlotte.

Peighntmeadiamond will have his regular rider, Brian Bell, on board. The Championship is race 8 on Monday's great card.

Chillin With Peeps, winner of the important Norman Picov Derby over open company, could also stake her claim for Horse of the Year with a big effort in the $59,850 OSS Derby over seven rivals.

Chantelle Bourgeois's homebred also won the Ontario Bred Derby this spring. Cassandra Jeschke rides Chillin With Peeps.

The 350-yard OSS Derby is race 6 on Monday.

Joe Tavares saddled three winners on the October 7 card at Ajax Downs, and Brian Bell rode all three. Those victories gave the longtime Quarter Horse trainer 34 wins for 2026, just ahead of Jason Pascoe (30 wins), who has won the trainer's title eight years in succession.

It was a poignant day for Tavares, his daughter Alexandra, and his racing team, as it marked one year since the passing of his wife, Christine, who bred and raced horses with her husband for decades.

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