By Greg Douglas – Dr. Sport

 

SCENE & HEARD: Its official name is still the BC Cup Golf Tournament in order to maintain a longstanding tradition.

But in reality, the event is now a lead-up to the newly named BC Day Festival of Racing on the Holiday Monday of August 7 at Hastings Racecourse.

The golfers who invade Meadow Gardens in Pitt Meadows tomorrow for a 1 p.m. shotgun start are thankful that the show goes on … mainly because of the dedicated efforts from Hastings stalwarts Dan Jukich, Jewel Kositsky and Christine Hong.

Owners, trainers, jockeys, grooms, patrons and management personnel from Hastings Racecourse take this one day of the year to mix and mingle on the links in a totally relaxed atmosphere that replaces the intensity of race days.

“The emphasis isn’t placed on winning the tournament,” says Jukich, the event organizer for the past decade. “The whole idea is for everyone to have fun and put their competitive juices on the shelf. Every golfer in the tournament has a chance to win one of four major prizes from a draw. There isn’t a leaderboard keeping track of individual scores but you know with this group they all love to compete.”

Jukich is quick to add: “Without Jewel and Christine, it would never happen. They coordinate everything, including the 50/50 draw for the New Stride Thoroughbred Adoption Society. The racing industry must  be acknowledged, too, because of its contribution with hole sponsorships.”

Jukich humbly doesn’t mention his tireless recruiting of players and foursome prizes results in the tournament’s annual success. Where he finds time to look after all the details remains a mystery.

One week to the day it will be back to the serious business of trying to win races on BC Festival Day at Hastings with the presentation of six major $50,000 stakes and a $20,000 BC Cup Marathon for B.C. bred or B.C. sired three-years-old & up.

The stakes include the New Westminster for two-year-olds & up; Hard Rock Casino for two-year-old fillies; Sir Winston Churchill Derby Trial for three-year-olds; Pacific Customs Brokers Classic for three-year-olds & up; Pacific Customs Brokers Distaff for fillies and mares three-years-old & up and the Hong Kong Jockey Club for three-year-old fillies.

The regular start time for the dynamite holiday card on Monday, August 7 is 1:50 p.m.