HorseRacing Central April 18, 2007
“THEY’RE IN THE GATE!”
And there they go! It won’t be long now before track announcer Dan Jukich, one of the best in the business, calls everything to order for the start of the 2007 thoroughbred season at Hastings Racecourse.
Opening weekend is Saturday, April 28th and Sunday, April 29th ... the launching of a 68-day live racing card that runs through Sunday, November 4th.
Jeff Sengara’s 2006 champion Suva will be in the spotlight on Saturday for the running of the $50,000 C.T.H.S. Sales Stakes for three-year-old fillies. Also in the lineup will be Nick and Pauline Felicella’s Chelsey’s Image, an ongoing rival of Suva with each winning two of four head-to-head battles in previous meetings.
The 3 year old colts and geldings share the spotlight in Sunday’s $50,000 C.T.H.S. Sales Stakes with Ookashada back sprinting in his debut as a three-year-old. Trained by Toni Jacobson-Cloutier for owners PM Racing, Ookashada scored impressive victories last season in the Jack Diamond Futurity and Ascot Graduation at a mile & 1/16.
Live racing starts at 1:25 p.m. on both days.
DERBY PREP RACES
The $325,000 Coolmore Lexington Stakes at Keeneland is the lone major three-year-old prep race on tap this weekend. It will run at a mile & 1/16 and many trainers at Keeneland this week were watching to see if trainer Larry Jones was going to enter Hard Spun, winner of the Lane’s End Futurity on March 24. If Hard Spun does run in the Lexington he won’t be entering the Kentucky Derby. “His next start would be the Preakness,” says Jones. However, on the other side of the coin, if Hard Spun passes on Lexington, then look for him on Kentucky Derby Day.
ROAD TO THE $100,000 CROWN CHALLENGE
The contest is currently being led by “jjung” with a total of $193.40 through the first four weeks of the tournament and looks like the favourite to win the Segment One prize of $500. The individual winners each receive $100 and in the first week “gordo” won with $67.80 in mythical money. The second week an entry from “rocket151” won with $67.20, followed by “biscottidog” in week three leading the pack with $166.80 in winnings. The winner from week four was “bluechip” with a $65.00 total. The contest continues this Saturday and it isn’t too late to register for the free handicapping series by checking our Hastings website for more details.
PUT THE WINTER “WOOLIES” AWAY
An extended standardbred season at Fraser Downs Racetrack & Casino will mean fast horses and warm summer nights ... the perfect combination for fans to enjoy a barbecue at the Winner’s Circle as the schedule extends through the end of June.
Originally scheduled to close on April 28th, a total of 14 extra race dates have been added with a May 18th-26th break for the annual Cloverdale Rodeo.
The Home Stretch buffet will be open each live racing night in May with a dinner special available throughout June. The famous all-you-can-eat Clubhouse buffet will be open every live racing Friday night in May. Fraser Downs Group Sales Manager Sharalyn Hovey will be pleased to look after your visits. Call her direct line at 604 575-5603.
PEDRO ALVARADO ANXIOUS TO START DEFENCE OF HASTINGS TITLE
Vancouver, B.C. (Apr. 17) -- Pedro Alvarado’s routine rarely changes as he prepares for another thoroughbred season at Hastings Racecourse.
His alarm kick-starts his day at 4 a.m. Two eggs and toast one morning; a bowl of cereal the next. Then it’s off to the only workplace he has ever known since his uncle took him to a race track in Mexico when he was six years old.
| Alvarado, the leading jockey at Hastings four of the last five years, maintains the enthusiasm of an apprentice as he arrives at the backstretch before the resident coyote is awake. He not only gallops five or six horses for the ever-present earlybird owners and trainers, Alvarado himself will jog the 6 1/2 furlong track as part of his training that has kept him a trim 117 pounds throughout his illustrious career. Alvarado won 114 races at Hastings in 2006 worth purse earnings just shy of $2 million. He says his season’s highlight was winning the B.C. Derby by a nose aboard Halo Steven over Ontario invader Head Chopper in a cluster at the wire that included Ok Nothanksforaskn and Raise the Bluff. Halo Steven suffered a fatal heart attack during a January workout at Santa Anita. “I loved that horse,” Alvarado says. “He was one of the best I’ve ever ridden.” The excitement in the air of Vancouver's 118th thoroughbred season can be felt throughout the grounds at Hastings. |
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Pedro Alvarado |
SLOTS ANYONE?
Well, not just “anyone”. The upcoming Fraser Downs Racetrack & Casino Slot Tournament will be limited to 49 players on Wednesday, April 25th with a $30 entry fee going back into the prize pool. Fraser Downs will contribute an additional $530 to make the total purse $2,000. Winners are based on total points or “credits” registered during the tournament.
Heats will be broken into seven groups of seven players with each heat consisting of two sessions of five minutes. The combined scores of those two sessions will be added together and the top 14 scores will advance to the semi-finals. The semi-final round will be two heats with one session of five minutes and the top seven will advance to the final.
The eventual champion will receive $775 with the runner-up winning $415 and third-place worth $250. The remaining four players will receive $140.
