HorseRacing Central August 17, 2007

WE’RE THERE FOR THE FAIR!

Hastings Racecourse is right smack in the middle of the action during the 2007 Fair at the PNE. With free admission, thousands of new and curious spectators will be filing through the gates at Hastings to catch their first glimpse of live thoroughbred racing at its finest with post times both Saturday and Sunday at 1:25 p.m.

There are still two Friday matinee dates on the schedule: Aug. 17 (today) and Aug. 24 with post times at 2:25 p.m. Make a note that the final Friday afternoon on the 24th will be Loonie & Toonie Day when prices at the concession stands are cut back to prices right out of the 1960’s! We don’t know of any other venues where you’re able to buy a hot dog for $2 with a soft drink or coffee at half that price!
There are other exciting promotions in upcoming weeks happening at Hastings, as well. Variety Day at the Races – a tradition at Hastings Racecourse – is set for Sunday, Aug. 26. That’s when various sports and media personalities drop by to mix and mingle with the young Variety special guests and don’t forget the fund-raising 50/50 draw that annually results in big numbers.

Organizers of the 2009 British Columbia World Police and Fire Games will be at Hastings on Saturday, Sept. 1 and you won’t want to miss the interaction involving our serve and protect finest. The very next day – Sunday, Sept. 2 – the defending Grey Cup champion B.C. Lions will be out in full force to decorate winning horses and mingle with Hastings patrons.

ACCESS FOR HPI MEMBERS

During the 2007 Fair at the PNE (Aug. 18 – Sept. 3) HPI members can gain access to the grounds by showing their purple HPI account card at the Hastings VIP entrance located at the Playground off Gate 6. That also applies to patrons for early simulcasting. Another option is Gate 9 where limited VIP and Preferred parking passes will be honoured in the Horseman’s lot. And, of course, good ol’ Jimmy with his assistant Mike will be at their regular Valet Parking locations after you enter Gate 6.

SPEAKING OF SIMULCASTING ….

Racing fans will want to be close to a Racebook simulcast centre at Hastings, Fraser Downs, Boulevard Casino, River Rock Casino and other TBC outlets at 4:30 Sunday afternoon for the running of the $1,000,000 Pacific Classic Stakes from Del Mar. The 13-horse field is headed by the amazing Lava Man, winner of this race a year ago. Corey Nakatani will again ride Lava Man but this year’s renewal has a new twist with the 10-furlong race being staged on the poly-track for the first time. Lava Man did win his lone start on the poly-track but was definitely not as dominate as he was racing over the conventional dirt tracks.

The switch in surface has moved up horses like Sun Boat (Michael Baze), recent winner of the Grade II San Diego Handicap over the Del Mar strip. A.P. Excellent (Victor Espinoza) came within a nose of upsetting Lava Man in the Hollywood Gold Cup in June.

A surprise starter in the Pacific Classic is Student Council who was scheduled to run in the Whitney at Saratoga two weeks ago but was purchased privately just before the race. The horse was scratched and the new game plan was unveiled when new connections Millennium Farms sent him to the west coast.

AND THERE’S MORE …

The Longacres Mile has always been one of the premier events in the Pacific Northwest and Sunday’s start-studded event has lured 12 talented milers to battle for the $400,000 purse at Emerald Downs.

With last year’s winner Flamethrowintexan on the sidelines, the morning line favourite has gone narrowly to Raise The Bluff (fourth in the B.C. Derby last year), owned by Ron Crockett and trained by former football star Junior Coffey. Raise The Bluff ran fourth in his most recent race – the San Diego Handicap at Del Mar.

With $400,000 up for grabs it caught the attention of southern California trainer Bob Baffert. He’ll have Wanna Runner (Ricky Frazier) and Sinister Minister (Clinton Potts) entered. Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer has countered with Trickey Trevor and rider Russell Baze.

The only locally-owned entry in the Longacres Mile is Ross MacLeod and Charles Ming’s Gotaghostofachance who’s been tackling Grade 1 types in his last two and was the Grade 11 winner of the Sports Page Handicap at Belmont Park in 2005. Kevin Radke will be in the irons for trainer Roger Stein.

MAJOR RACES AT MOHAWK & FLAMBORO

Big purse money will also be free flowing this weekend in standardbred circles with Mohawk Raceway staging Saturday’s $737,000 Canadian Pacing Derby as the eighth race on the card with a 6:40 p.m. Pacific post time. Also on the Mohawk card is a simulcast of the Sobey’s Gold Cup and Saucer from Charlottetown Driving Park. Post time for this highlight of the Maritime racing season is 8:00 p.m. Pacific time.

Flamboro Downs presents Confederation Cup Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Pacific. Top caliber horses from North America will be entered in three eliminations (races 8, 9 & 10) leading up to the richest final in Confederation Cup history. Total purse money on the Flamboro card is over $1.2 million.

Fraser Downs is just less than a month away from opening its 32nd season. Reservations can be made now for the entire season. We’ll have more details on the upcoming season in our next HorseRacing Central Newsletter.