Page 24 - February 2005 The Game

24 The Game, February 2005 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
This time of year is tough on racing writers looking for a story. Jockeys are taking that well-earned vacation or riding elsewhere in sunnier climes. Trainers have turned their horses out in the back forty—many breathing a sigh of relief that the season is over while others have taken their stable
south for the winter. In short their isn’t a lot of action to write about so we’ll take the opportunity to review what has been a year of ups, downs, twists and turns, and an eventual resolution (we hope) to the business of racing in British Columbia.
It certainly was an eventful year— horsemen got a late Christmas present at the beginning of the season in the form of a $2.1 million purse increase, the track was sold again, management fired, the people who fired them were fired, and slots were finally approved after a long political battle. Quite
a year for a sport that doesn’t like change, so just to recap:
In March of last year the Provincial government announced a 14.5 % purse increase totaling $2.1 million advanced against future slot machine revenue at Hastings. The deal was done through the combined efforts of HBPA President Mel Snow and former Hastings CEO Phil Heard who approached the government last spring in an encouraging effort of co-operation between horsemen and management. The allotment went largely into the purses for bottom races and graduated up through the ranks to allowance races effectively increasing the value of cheaper horses in an effort to increase their number. This strategy should work in the long run, eventually leading to more horses and more race days.
"We thought it was important to keep the lower end purses up to a level where it made sense for owners to keep their horses rather than sell them or send them to other places,"
said Snow.
"The dollar amount is very impor-
tant to this industry but even more important is the commitment from the government acknowledging that this is a very important industry that we supply a lot of jobs and it’s commitment from them to help us."
Another major event blind-sided horsemen early in the season when Woodbine Entertainment, thought by many to be the answer to our industry’s problems, announced their intention to sell Hastings Racecourse. Great Canadian Gaming Corp. and Vancouver developer Peter Wall quickly purchased the track. In the ensuing months confused horsemen saw Phil Heard and Racing Director Debbie Peebles depart and Garth Essary promoted to CEO. Garth who was very popular with horsemen was sacked a few months later—reported- ly by Mr. Wall who was himself sacked, (I mean ‘bought out’) by GCGC for a reported $18 million dollars plus his original investment.
A collective sigh of relief was felt throughout BC’s thoroughbred industry in August as Vancouver City council voted 6-5 to allow slot machines at the track after a long and hard fought battle by track management and the Save-the Track coalition. The divided council voted 5-5 on the issue, the
deciding vote cast by Mayor Larry Campbell, a long time proponent of adding slots to the track. Six hundred slot machines will be installed over the coming year.
The thing about all of these changes is that, in an industry where uncertainty is a way of life horsemen need stability on the management side. We can only hope that current Vice-President & Chief Operating Officer Michael Brown will remain in place. That’s a tall order with a company that seems to be constantly
‘restructuring’ but we can hope that it’s all just growing pains. The most important thing GCGC can bring to the industry at this stage is consistency.
Another event saw long-time racing photographer Ralph Bower offer us a look at the marvelous colour and exciting personalities our sport has hosted over the years. Let’s bring this exhibit back in the form of a book. Fans deserve to see the history of the sport.
The trainer’s ranks produced the most exciting finish for leading trainer since George Cummins nipped Frank Barroby at the wire by winning five races on the final day a few years back. A slim in-the-money percentage kept Dino Condilinios (44%), Harold Barroby (43%) and Barbara Heads (41%) noses apart in a tight training race that wasn’t decided until the last day of racing. Dino ended up with the title finishing with 37 wins.
The jockeys are as always good for a feature story and the comeback of racing’s bad-boy Alan Cuthbertson was good for a column or two among the local racing press. Alan will hope- fully answer the call again this year after an extended rest. Pedro Alvarado gave us his usual hard-knocking effort to win the lead- ing jockey title with 130 wins. Dave Wilson finished second with 79 wins while third place went to veteran Chris Loseth with 51 wins and 36% of his mounts in the money for total earnings of $927,101. A credit to the
track and his profession Chris cele- brated 30 years of race riding by win- ning a race on the 30th anniversary to the day of his riding debut. A couple of Sovereign awards and one of the most successful riding careers in Canadian racing history almost passed unnoticed except for the sharp eye of track announcer Dan Juckich.
On a more serious note popular former jockey Jimmy Arnold was stricken with a rare form of brain cancer prompting the backstretch community to gather at a golf tournament/fundraiser put together by his friends. The response was amaz- ing and, in raising almost $10,000, demonstrated what a tightly knit and caring family we are. The good news here is that Jim’s cancer seems to be in remission and the prognosis is good.
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From the journal...
Ten years ago leading rider at
Exhibition Park (now Hastings) was Chris Loseth with 145 wins including 6 wins on one card on September 14...leading apprentice Dave Wilson with a record 123 wins...leading trainer was Lance Giesbrecht with 50 wins
Twenty years ago...leading jockey was Chris Loseth with 166 wins breaking a record set by Basil Frasier (141 wins) and on April 9 Chris equalled a North American record winning 8 races on a ten race card...leading trainer was George Cummins with 34 wins.
Railbird
Railbird
A Look at Racing in British Columbia
By Jim Reynolds
Wes Adams is enjoying every minute as Woodbine’s outrider
By Elena Fenech
“Getting what you go after is success; but liking it while you are getting it is happiness.” Bertha Damon. Being an outrider is in many ways just like any other job, it’s not as easy as it looks, although it may appear quite simple, in reality the rider depends on his horse at all times. It’s a team effort, a true partnership
between man and horse.
Wes Adams is Woodbine’s main outrider, his job is
both exhilarating and demanding. His days are long, the work load is intense, and there are no days off. Regardless of all this he would not trade it for anything else in the world.
Wes’s involvement with horses began at an early age, both his grand father and father were horsemen that trained thoroughbreds as well as kept a working ranch in Calgary. As long as he can remember, Wes always had a pony and was responsible for its care. Working around farm animals was an enjoyable daily activity that laid the foundations for a successful future. The early exposure to horses allowed him to develop an understanding and appreciation for them. When he was twelve he started to break babies and to this day has faith in the fact that, “My horses are my
friends, I have to be able to trust them, it’s important to keep them content according to their nature. People working with horses should be taught compassion an kindness.”
Wes believes that horses are like people, although they have their quirks that will drive you crazy, each one of them has something good to offer. Each horse, he says, is an individual and the most important aspect is to acknowledge that no two horses are alike and in order to expose the horse’s full potential the training and management must be tailored to suit each horse.
It all sounds very simple but when this theory is applied to its fullest extent the road to success becomes long and curvilinear. It is easier to establish a set program and have all the horses on it rather than to analyze each individual and tailor the training accordingly. To do this takes time, and in a society where “time is money” many would rather save both.
Doing things right and taking time to provide the best care for each horse was always a given for Wes and it has proved successful in his career as a thoroughbred trainer. Wes began training when he was seventeen-years-old and in his first year he won
35 races, making him
the youngest, success-
ful trainer in Western
Canada. It all seemed
so easy until the follow-
ing year when tragedy
struck. A fire swept
through his stable and
when the smoke had
cleared, he had lost
everything. It was a
devastating experience and dreadful enough to make Wes want to change his career path. The fire made him realize how quickly one’s life can change.
Over the next few years he worked as a valet; a gate crew worker; and an out rider however his passion for training never subsided and in the late 1990’s he resumed training as a private trainer for several prominent owners. Even though his horses were winning their fair share of races, the short racing season coupled with the low purses made it financially difficult to continue as a trainer.
CONTINUED PAGE 38 - SEE WES ADAMS
Wes Adams at Woodbine