Page 29 - August 2005 The Game

Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper The Game, August 2005 29
Sale topper captures Lt. Governor's
R. Associate, who sold for $67,000 to lead all consignments at the Horses of Racing Age Sale this past April at Hastings Racecourse, paid big dividends for owner Garth Weeks when he captured the $125,000 Lieutenant Governor’s Handicap on July 1.
With the winner’s share of $75,000 R. Associate increased his bankroll to roughly $100,000 since his April purchase.
Under expert handling by leading rider Pedro Alvarado, R. Associate settled in just behind the leaders in the early going, then found a seam on the final turn and forged to the front down the stretch under a vigorous hand ride. A somewhat overlooked Roscoe Pito (14-to-1) held on for second while race favourite Quiet Cash rallied for third.
The Lieutenant Governor’s capped a great day of racing at Hastings in which an estimated crowd of 7,000 wagered $461,336 on the 8-race card. Total handle from all sources on Hastings’ races was 1,045,128.
The biggest little racetrack in Canada
Did You Know....
That Magna Entertainment Corp. has reportedly reached an agreement in principle to sell Flamboro Downs to BC based Great Canadian Gaming Corporation. The terms of the agreement are for a cash deal and the assumption of approximately $64 million US of debt.
Great Canadian Gaming owns and operates Hastings in Vancouver, two harness tracks in British Columbia, and has also recently purchased Georgian Downs, a harness track with slots in Ontario.
Hastings Groom of the Month
Lisa Russel
Lisa Russell has been working at Hastings for the past 15 years and says she loves her job. "Racing is in my blood, I don't know what else I would do if I didn't work here, I love it," said Russell.
This is her first year work- ing for trainer Ryan Rawson and he says she does a great job. "Lisa is a really hard worker and I can always rely on her to do a great job with all the horses," said Rawson.
Photo by Jackie Humber
A Look at Racing in British Columbia
By Jim Reynolds
It’s all about the volunteers. It’s about Peter and Carol Ruoss, Dene Thomas, John Draper, Mona Willis, Sandy Kinsey, Keith Reid, Brian Anderson, Dennis Allison, Brian Kozak, John Allison, Stan Thompson, Jack Powell, John Bey, Ed Vermette, Jody Woodford, Abe Willis, Sandy Gabor, and Barrie Fraser.
Those of course, are just some of the names of the people who helped make Princeton Racing Days work. There were dozens of others, folks who manned the entrance to Sunflower Downs, the ticket-takers, hotdog vendors, pari-mutuel clerks—all the jobs that go into putting together a race-meet and making the return of horseracing to this small British Columbia town a success. And what a success. The grandstand was filled to capacity; the beer garden was standing room only, and, most important of all, there were long line-ups at the windows.
People came from all over; fans from Vancouver, Kelowna and other small interior towns; trainers like John Stabenfeldt and Don Abrahamson came from Washington State, Lance Giesbrecht and Jim Brown from Vancouver. It was old time horseracing—the kind portrayed in William Faulkner’s ‘The Reivers’. And it was a success. The attendance, probably not closely counted, was over 2,300 and the mutuel handle was a hefty $34,000 give or take a nickel lost in the floorboards.
Horseracing, you see, has always been a part of Princeton Days—an annual two-day affair with a parade, a big dance and, of course, Thoroughbred and Quarterhorse racing. A big event for a small town nestled in the pine and sagebrush covered hills about 150 miles east of Vancouver and a jumping–off place for travelers to the southern Okanagan Valley. Princeton was a mining town, when there was a mine, and is now just a passing-through place on the Crowsnest highway that runs through southern BC.
Times have been tough for small B.C. towns like that, but Princeton has heart. It’s cowboy country and the people are resilient. And the horseracing, although it might not be ‘A’ circuit quality like them bigger tracks (Sunflower Downs measures 5 furlongs), or at times even good ‘B’ circuit racing, has always been fun. I could tell you stories; some of which are true, some of which are printable, and others best told over
a cold beer in the Princeton Hotel Bar.
One thing I can tell you though was about the effort
expended on that last day of June. The effort of all those aforementioned volunteers, the effort of the trainers who brought horses to the meet, and the effort of the riders, especially the women riders who could be heard whipping their horses down the stretch sounding like tennis divas at Wimbledon. Former Hastings jockeys Larry Lacoursiere and Dan Brock came out of retirement to ride. In fact Dan won his 1,300th race and promptly re-retired. It was the kind of effort that stemmed from people who loved horseracing.
Take John Bey for instance. John is President of the Princeton Racing Days Association and has been involved in Princeton Racing Days from the beginning.
"That would be in 1963," he says. "Neumont Mines was here at the time and they donated all the equipment, the manpower, the surveyors and engi- neers to help us build the track and in 1965 we had our first race."
The two-day meet ran every year after that until 2001 when unfortunately the economy forced them to cancel.
"We ran short of horses and jockeys because we couldn’t increase our purses.
This year we have $40,000 from sponsors, from Hastings Park and from BC Lotto and from local people and businesses, so we’ve increased them to $4,000 at the bottom end and added money. We’ve got sponsors down to $150 and as high as $1,000 locally. Now our highest purse is $10,000.
"The community really suffered without racing. It’s part of our Dominion Day celebration."
Doug and Laurie Currie, and Bob Beale were three men who were with John at the beginning and were an unselfish part of Princeton Racing Days. They are gone now but they are not forgotten in Princeton where the ‘Currie Cup’ and the Bob Beale Cup are featured races.
As I said it’s all about the volunteers.
Tommy Wolski
On July 15th, apprentice jockey Justin Stein had what many would call an unbelievable weekend at Hastings racecourse.
Stein would open the Friday night program with a win. He would then close out that evening winning the last five races.
Stein then came back to capture the first two races the next day, giving him eight consecutive wins.
By the time the weekend was over, he had eleven winners propelling his record to fifty-one victories for the year and placing him atop the jockey leader board at Hastings this season.
Not bad for a fellow who says that only three years ago the furthest thing from his mind was following his father Bobby’s
footsteps as a jockey.
In 2002, Justin was busy taking culinary
classes at a university in the interior of British Columbia and for those who knew him, he had appeared quite content.
“One day, Justin called me and told me he wanted to learn to ride. I was so happy when he told me, I drove to Kamloops and we began working together. Never once did I suggest to him that he should become a jockey. It was all his decision.” said his father Bobby.
“I really did not think I could ride thoroughbreds. I thought they might be too tough for me. I definitely did not want to go down to Hastings and gallop horses and be in everyone’s way or upset anyone.” said the younger Stein.
The longer he rode coupled with the guidance from his father, Justin’s confidence level grew and in the spring of 2004, he made the decision to try Hastings racecourse.
Unlike many youngsters, who cannot wait to ride their first race, his approach
was of a more mature nature.
Justin approached veteran trainers
Frank and Harold Barroby, who had helped with his father’s successful career, and listened to what they had to say.
“Two things caught my eye about Justin right off the bat. It was his work ethics; he was always first at the barn every morning. He also paid attention to detail about the horses he was getting on for us.” said Harold Barroby.
Last fall, after six months of exercising horses, Stein began his riding career. He was an instant success winning four races within weeks.
It was on advice of several close friends, the Barroby brothers, veteran rider Chris Loseth and agent Trapper Barroby, that Stein made a wise decision not to pursue his fifth winner or continue to ride through- out the winter months.
“That had always been my plan. I knew by not riding that fifth winner, or going to the States when the Canadian season was over, I would have my apprentice
allowance for two full seasons.” said Stein. It was a move, he would not regret. As one of the first riders on the grounds at Hastings this spring, he began right where he left off. Getting on horses for anyone who asked, never turning any trainer
down.
As the season drew near, the buzz at
Hastings was that veteran rider Pedro Alvarado would likely capture his fourth consecutive riding title.
“Sure, that's what they were saying.” said Harold Barroby, “My thinking was more of it’s not a case of Justin just being leading apprentice, I was convinced, he would be battling for leading rider at the meeting. And so far, it looks like I was right.”
And as far as the rumours that Stein would leave Hastings before this season ends to head to Woodbine, agent Trapper Barroby had this to say, “Justin gave me a commitment to stay for the whole Hastings season. As long as he had a chance to be leading rider, he would stay here.”