HorseRacing Central May 1, 2009
Saturday May 2nd First Race Time Change
That means an earlier start for our “live” racing at Hastings on Saturday: 1:15 p.m., which is 10 minutes earlier than our normal start. This allows us to run five live races at Hastings prior to and after the Derby.
‘CANUCK FEVER’ HITS HASTINGS
Oh, yes … “We Are All Canucks”. And how’s this for exciting news: racing fans and casino customers at Hastings Racecourse will have a chance to win tickets to Game 5 of the Vancouver-Chicago series (unless our favourites pull off another sweep).
Through the co-operation of our parent company Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, tickets can be won in a package that includes limousine transportation from Hastings to GM Place and “to-die-for” seats in the Great Canadian Suite!
Slot players will receive a ballot each time they win a jackpot and those ballots will go into a draw barrel. Track customers will receive random entries as ‘pop-up’ vouchers from the self-serve wagering machines located throughout all levels of Hastings Racecourse and they, too, go into the draw barrel. Winners must be present on Saturday, May 9 when the draw is made at 3:30 p.m. at Hastings … then it’s off to the Stanley Cup playoff game in style!
SUPER SATURDAY
Talk about your big racing days! Saturday, May 2 marks the first feature race on our stakes calendar with the running of the $50,000 George Royal and we’ve got the Kentucky Derby via simulcast at the new starting time of 3:24 p.m.
GEORGE ROYAL: A ROYAL MATCH-UP
It doesn’t get much better than this: True Metropolitan, Krazy Koffee, Spaghetti Mouse, B R Remark, Sir Gallovic, Rallying Cry and Teide as an entry, Codio and Seminole Brave. That’s the lineup for Saturday’s George Royal, the first stakes race of the 2009 meet. It’s over 6 ½ furlongs and the big question is: Can True Met make it three in a row? The classy seven-year-old is my choice after watching him one morning last week record a time of 1:13.80 in a sharp six-furlong workout. Krazy Koffee has sprinted well in the past and if he can get some breaks with the trip he could be a big factor making his first start at a 4-year-old. It is truly a stunning field and should be lots of fun.
BRIGHOUSE BELLES SUNDAY
Sunday’s feature race at Hastings is a lot easier to handicap with the running of the $50,000 Brighouse Belles. Littlemiss Allison looks to be the controlling speed and that should give her a big edge. She was caught in the deep stretch in an optional $75,000 race but could be tough to reel in this time. Blue Sky Holiday and Against The Sky are the main contenders.
DERBY HISTORY IN THE MAKING?
As per usual the Kentucky Derby is a handicapping challenge with 20 starters and half of them being conventional dirt types with the other half specializing on a synthetic surface. Here’s a startling fact to consider: Dunkirk, running from post position 15, would be the first horse since 1882 to win the Derby after never having raced as a 2-year-old! (I don’t make these things up!)
I’m going to make a strong case for Dunkirk who hasn’t raced since his impressive runner-up effort to Quality Road in the Florida Derby. I’m pleased to see Todd Pletcher gave him some time between races because he was asking a lot of him running against the top east coast 3-year-olds. I liken it to a boxer fighting a couple of club professionals early in his career then being thrown into the ring with a top-ranked contender too soon, missing the necessary steps needed to make the fighter a seasoned professional and ready to fight tp-ranked boxers. The same theory applies to Dunkirk who missed (because of timing) important preps in allowance races and/or Grade 3 competition before knocking heads with the big boys. He has trained smartly at Palm Meadows and Pletcher seems very happty with his progress. He’s bred to run all day and I think the A.P. Indy influence will figure prominently in the outcome of this year’s Derby. Two other key contenders are Friesan FDire (by A.P. Indy) and I Want Revenge who is by A.P. Indy stallion Stephen Got Even. Both bring impressive winning streaks on conventional dirt and ironically both have improved significantly since adding blinkers so I’ll call for an A.P. Indy triactor (6, 13, 15) in Saturday’s Run For The Roses.
HPI BONUS POINTS
HorsePlayer Interactive offers 250,000 HPI Bonus Points in the Kentucky Derby Top 5 contest. Hastings Racecourse, Fraser Downs, River Rock, Boulevard and Schanks have further information and entry forms. Your selections could earn you a quarter-of-a-million HPI bonus points.
FRASER DOWNS TRACK RECORD
Top older pacers lined up at Fraser Downs on Saturday, April 25 and a track record was established when the five-year-old Kiawah (pronounced Keewah) stopped the teletimer in an eye-popping 1:51.2 for driver/trainer Dave Hudon. Sitting fourth in the early going, Kiawah was out and motoring after the opening quarter, took the lead by the three-quarters and paced off to a six-length win.
Kiawah has also campaigned at Northlands Park and won the Mr. Vancouver at Fraser Downs in December. He is owned by Bill Boden and Monica Hudon.
Bill Davis continues to lead both the driver and trainer standings. As of the end of April he had 138 wins as a driver and 104 as a trainer.
At Woodbine last Saturday Rod Therres’ horse Primary Purpose was runner-up in an elimination race.
That means an earlier start for our “live” racing at Hastings on Saturday: 1:15 p.m., which is 10 minutes earlier than our normal start. This allows us to run five live races at Hastings prior to and after the Derby.
‘CANUCK FEVER’ HITS HASTINGS
Oh, yes … “We Are All Canucks”. And how’s this for exciting news: racing fans and casino customers at Hastings Racecourse will have a chance to win tickets to Game 5 of the Vancouver-Chicago series (unless our favourites pull off another sweep).
Through the co-operation of our parent company Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, tickets can be won in a package that includes limousine transportation from Hastings to GM Place and “to-die-for” seats in the Great Canadian Suite!
Slot players will receive a ballot each time they win a jackpot and those ballots will go into a draw barrel. Track customers will receive random entries as ‘pop-up’ vouchers from the self-serve wagering machines located throughout all levels of Hastings Racecourse and they, too, go into the draw barrel. Winners must be present on Saturday, May 9 when the draw is made at 3:30 p.m. at Hastings … then it’s off to the Stanley Cup playoff game in style!
SUPER SATURDAY Talk about your big racing days! Saturday, May 2 marks the first feature race on our stakes calendar with the running of the $50,000 George Royal and we’ve got the Kentucky Derby via simulcast at the new starting time of 3:24 p.m.
GEORGE ROYAL: A ROYAL MATCH-UP
It doesn’t get much better than this: True Metropolitan, Krazy Koffee, Spaghetti Mouse, B R Remark, Sir Gallovic, Rallying Cry and Teide as an entry, Codio and Seminole Brave. That’s the lineup for Saturday’s George Royal, the first stakes race of the 2009 meet. It’s over 6 ½ furlongs and the big question is: Can True Met make it three in a row? The classy seven-year-old is my choice after watching him one morning last week record a time of 1:13.80 in a sharp six-furlong workout. Krazy Koffee has sprinted well in the past and if he can get some breaks with the trip he could be a big factor making his first start at a 4-year-old. It is truly a stunning field and should be lots of fun.
BRIGHOUSE BELLES SUNDAY
Sunday’s feature race at Hastings is a lot easier to handicap with the running of the $50,000 Brighouse Belles. Littlemiss Allison looks to be the controlling speed and that should give her a big edge. She was caught in the deep stretch in an optional $75,000 race but could be tough to reel in this time. Blue Sky Holiday and Against The Sky are the main contenders.
DERBY HISTORY IN THE MAKING?
As per usual the Kentucky Derby is a handicapping challenge with 20 starters and half of them being conventional dirt types with the other half specializing on a synthetic surface. Here’s a startling fact to consider: Dunkirk, running from post position 15, would be the first horse since 1882 to win the Derby after never having raced as a 2-year-old! (I don’t make these things up!)
I’m going to make a strong case for Dunkirk who hasn’t raced since his impressive runner-up effort to Quality Road in the Florida Derby. I’m pleased to see Todd Pletcher gave him some time between races because he was asking a lot of him running against the top east coast 3-year-olds. I liken it to a boxer fighting a couple of club professionals early in his career then being thrown into the ring with a top-ranked contender too soon, missing the necessary steps needed to make the fighter a seasoned professional and ready to fight tp-ranked boxers. The same theory applies to Dunkirk who missed (because of timing) important preps in allowance races and/or Grade 3 competition before knocking heads with the big boys. He has trained smartly at Palm Meadows and Pletcher seems very happty with his progress. He’s bred to run all day and I think the A.P. Indy influence will figure prominently in the outcome of this year’s Derby. Two other key contenders are Friesan FDire (by A.P. Indy) and I Want Revenge who is by A.P. Indy stallion Stephen Got Even. Both bring impressive winning streaks on conventional dirt and ironically both have improved significantly since adding blinkers so I’ll call for an A.P. Indy triactor (6, 13, 15) in Saturday’s Run For The Roses.
HPI BONUS POINTS HorsePlayer Interactive offers 250,000 HPI Bonus Points in the Kentucky Derby Top 5 contest. Hastings Racecourse, Fraser Downs, River Rock, Boulevard and Schanks have further information and entry forms. Your selections could earn you a quarter-of-a-million HPI bonus points.
FRASER DOWNS TRACK RECORD
Top older pacers lined up at Fraser Downs on Saturday, April 25 and a track record was established when the five-year-old Kiawah (pronounced Keewah) stopped the teletimer in an eye-popping 1:51.2 for driver/trainer Dave Hudon. Sitting fourth in the early going, Kiawah was out and motoring after the opening quarter, took the lead by the three-quarters and paced off to a six-length win.
Kiawah has also campaigned at Northlands Park and won the Mr. Vancouver at Fraser Downs in December. He is owned by Bill Boden and Monica Hudon. Bill Davis continues to lead both the driver and trainer standings. As of the end of April he had 138 wins as a driver and 104 as a trainer.
At Woodbine last Saturday Rod Therres’ horse Primary Purpose was runner-up in an elimination race.
