By Greg Douglas – Dr. Sport SCENE & HEARD: It is a rare occasion in Vancouver when professional athletes from the Canucks, BC Lions and Whitecaps FC are able to mix and mingle with their fans at an outdoor social gathering. Sports Alumni Day at Hastings Racecourse, introduced last summer at the track, is…
DetailsBy Greg Douglas – Dr. Sport SCENE & HEARD: The legend of Monashee will forever live in the archives of horse racing in British Columbia. From a $14,000 purchase by Ole Nielsen at Keeneland in 2003 to a stunning career that ended with Hall of Fame status, Monashee generated $760,490 in earnings that included…
DetailsBy Greg Douglas – Dr. Sport SCENE & HEARD: Who would ever think besides being adorable that wiener dogs are proud little puppies to boot? At last count there were 80 applications from owners to take part in next weekend’s Wiener Dog extravaganza at Hastings: five heats Saturday and three more Sunday leading up to…
DetailsBy Greg Douglas – Dr. Sport SCENE & HEARD: When a guy has driven 18-wheel logging trucks during the wild winters of northern Alberta and Saskatchewan for a living, you won’t hear him complaining about the hours he keeps today as an assistant trainer at Hastings Racecourse. Actually, Mal Beveridge is more than an assistant…
DetailsBy Greg Douglas – Dr. Sport SCENE & HEARD: Trainer Mark Cloutier would like nothing better than to deliver his mother-in-law Dixie Jacobson a special gift on this Canada Day holiday Monday. Cloutier has three mounts running on today’s card but the one that matters most under the circumstances is Sharp Contrast in…
DetailsBy Greg Douglas – Dr. Sport SCENE & HEARD: It had been 30 years since a jockey appeared at the podium during a BC Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony when Chris Loseth made Honoured Members status in May, 2009. Up until then the only name listed under Horse Racing in the local Hall…
DetailsBy Greg Douglas – Dr. Sport SCENE & HEARD: Carmen Kramer, program coordinator for the New Stride Thoroughbred Adoption Society, wants to make one point crystal clear. “When people hear the word ‘retired’ they think old and slow,” she says. “That is not the case with the thoroughbred horses we have under our care.…
DetailsBY Greg Douglas – Dr. Sport SCENE & HEARD: When Pat Jarvis was asked to create a memorial blanket for today’s fifth race – the Mark Walker Purse – she immediately searched her inventory for something in pink. “Mark always wore a pink helmet cover,” says the full-time trainer and part-time seamstress. “It was…
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