BC Racebook Newsletter - July 26, 2023
BIG CROWD, BIG HANDLE ON A BIG DAY OF SPORTING EVENTS
By Greg Douglas - Dr. Sport
Thoroughbred racing more than held its own at Hastings Racecourse on Saturday, July 22 during one of the busiest weekends in recent history on Vancouver’s sports entertainment calendar.
An eight-race Cup Day card at Hastings drew an estimated crowd in excess of 10,000, creating a season-high total handle of $820,726.
All the while, there was activity everywhere with literally thousands of British Columbians heading to Seattle for the Toronto Blue Jays major league baseball weekend series, the BC Lions playing at home to Saskatchewan Saturday and the Vancouver Whitecaps hosting Club Leon the previous night.
Next up on the Hastings calendar is the return of racing under the lights with the first of four Friday Night Live cards launching this week (July 28), all with 7:00 p.m. start times. The remaining Friday Night dates are set for August 4, 11 and 18 with the Saturday matinee racing not scheduled to resume until September 9.
Monday, August 7 is the date racing fans have circled in red for two reasons: BC Cup Day at Hastings and the first leg of the Western Canadian Triple Crown with the $125,000 Manitoba Derby at Assiniboia Downs.
This new event then heads to Edmonton for the $200,000 Canadian Derby at Century Mile on August 26 followed by the $125,000 BC Derby at Hastings on Saturday, September 16. With a $100,000 bonus up for grabs should a horse win all three races, it is being billed as the $550,000 Western Canadian Triple Crown.
During the PNE Fair there are a pair of Monday Night cards set for August 21 and 28, both with 7:00 p.m. starts.
Quagmire ridden by Fraser Aebly on July 23, 2023 - 2nd Race (photo Michael Bye)
BAILEY ON THE BACKSTRETCH
by Bailey Williams
Where has the time gone? Hard to believe we are just two weeks out from the first leg of the Western Canadian Triple Crown series with the $125,000 Manitoba Derby running Monday, August 7 at Assiniboia Downs.
Hastings’ apprentice jockey Fraser Aebly is hopeful he will be landing a mount and it is not unreasonable to suggest it might just happen.
Since moving his tack to Winnipeg on off days he already has four wins and a 60% top three achievement rating that’s been making an impression on more than just his Hastings fan base.
Over ‘The Cup’ weekend Aebly managed to boot home three winners including Quagmire, the horse that started his winning ways last fall. The seven-year-old gelding owned by Lorie Henson, Helen Klimes and Sharon Pring was impressive in his gate-to-wire victory as he cleared over to the rail heading down the backstretch while pulling away from the field for a comfortable victory.
Quagmire was one of three winners on the weekend for trainer Steve Henson who hit a milestone 500 wins on Saturday’s card with Willow Creek Farms’ Best One Yet. Willow Creek could have an entry in the Manitoba Derby and Aebly would be the obvious choice to be in the irons.
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Trainer Steve Henson
500 CAREER WINS & COUNTING
By Greg Douglas - Dr. Sport
There is a special charm to veteran horseman Steve Henson. His is a true rags-to-riches story, having survived tough times growing up in Vancouver’s east end in the late 1980s and early 90s to become one of the most successful and beloved trainers in the history of Hastings Racecourse.
In last Saturday’s third race, with a horse aptly named Best One Yet owned by Willow Creek Farms, Henson celebrated his 500th career victory. He came out of the weekend with 502 wins, putting him among the training elite at Hastings.
Besides caring for horses, Steve Henson cares for his fellow man. He has spent countless hours year-round in the backstretch offering a guiding hand to workers at all levels who reach out for help.
Henson himself has no idea how enormously his army of admirers has grown over the years. Suffice to say, Hastings has its very own ‘Stevie Wonder’.
