BC CUP DAY SALUTES ANNIVERSARY OF 1954 MIRACLE MILE AT EMPIRE STADIUM

Jason Beck:  Author of The Miracle Mile

The 2023 edition of BC Cup Day at Hastings Racecourse on Monday, August 7 is saluting one of the most memorable moments in the history of sport in British Columbia. 

It was on this very date in 1954 when 35,000 eager spectators crammed the newly-constructed Empire Stadium next to the racetrack to witness England’s Roger Bannister and Australian John Landy meet for the first time in what will forever be known as The Miracle Mile during the British Empire and Commonwealth Games.

It became part of worldwide history when the four-minute mile was broken by two men in the same race.  With just 90 yards from the finish line, Landy glanced over his left shoulder and at that instant Bannister streaked by him on the right to win in a Commonwealth record time of 3:58.8.  Landy finished at 3:59.6.

That very moment took only a fraction of a second but is frozen in time forever with a statue located at Empire Field next to Hastings Park.  

Jason Beck, Curator & Facility Director at the BC Sports Hall of Fame, will be on hand at Hastings Racecourse on BC Cup Day to make a BC Racebook draw when one lucky patron receives an amazing Hall of Fame gift pack that includes a signed copy of his book The Miracle Mile – Stories of the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.

The holiday Monday BC Cup with a 2 p.m. start features six $50,000 Stakes with the BC Cup Classic for 3-year-olds & up and the BC Cup Distaff for fillies and mares 3-years-old & up headlining the card. Included are the BC Cup Nursery for 2-year-old colts & geldings; BC Cup Debutante for 2-year-old fillies; the Hong Kong Jockey Club for 3-year-old fillies and Sir Winston Churchill for 3-year-olds.

The $20,000 Pick 4 Guaranteed Pool at Hastings continues through the balance of the season along with the Classic $1 Pick 5 with a takeout of just 15%. 

Monday, August 7 is also the date of the first leg of the Western Canadian Triple Crown with the $125,000 Manitoba Derby at Assiniboia Downs.  It will be followed by the $200,000 Canadian Derby at Century Mile in Edmonton August 26 and the $125,000 BC Derby at Hastings on Saturday, September 16. There is a $100,000 bonus on the line should a horse win all three races.