Page 30 - March 2005 The Game
P. 30

30 The Game, March 2005 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
A Backstretch Profile
When lunchtime rolled around at his elementary school in Vancouver’s East End young Alex Murray didn’t go home, he headed for the back- stretch of Exhibition Park where his dad trained horses. His mother had a little two burner stove and would cook his lunch in the tack room while he did chores around the barn. With a childhood like that it’s little wonder the Vancouver criminal defence attorney’s first love is horseracing.
Indeed, it doesn’t seem that becoming a lawyer was a preplanned life-course for Alex—who may just be the most well educated trainer in the sport. After High School he entered the University of British Columbia and earned a Bachelor of Arts (with a major in Geography) in 1972. A year or two later came under- graduate courses in psychology at Simon Fraser University. Between studies he trained horses and travelled to racetracks around North America and eventually began studying law in earnest, receiving his LLB at the University Victoria in 1992. Soon after he articled and was called to the bar and now practices criminal and immigration law.
His education could have moved quicker he says, "But, a horse always got in my way."
Alex has trained and raced horses in Vancouver and Alberta, (where he
was also a racing official), Toronto, Spokane, Portland, New Orleans and several racetracks in California, to name but a few stops on the racing map.
"I got taught a few lessons along the way," he says. "It was part of the learning experience and I’ve found you learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes."
"I’ve liked almost every place I’ve been. There was good food to eat in Louisiana, great music in San Francisco, but I kept coming back to Vancouver," he says. "And it finally dawned on me that this is the place I want to be."
And he’s done well here since returning—obtaining a law degree, being called to the bar and winning the BC Derby with VERNON INVADER a few years ago.
Alex has a grounded approach to horseracing and a slightly different view as to what ails it. He puts it this way.
"When I was a kid everyone around here had a connection with animals, had an uncle who had a farm and the farm was in Richmond or Surrey. Now it’s altogether different. People like to gamble there’s no question about that but horseracing is just one form of gambling and can be replaced by bingo or lotteries.
"We’re going to have slots here so there will be a some sort of revenue
that might bring us back to three days a week and give us a chance to halt the slide and build a little bit. But its going to be difficult to get back to where it was when George Royal went to California and it was on the front page of the Sun. There’s too many other gambling opportunities and too many people view horserac- ing as just gambling. It’s an important part of the business but it’s not the whole thing. There’s a connection to the animals that a lot of city folks just don’t have.
"Here [at Hastings] we’re essentially farming in the middle of the city. Its like farming because its so weather dependent, it deals with animals, feed, there’s animal husbandry involved. We’re farming right in the middle of the big city and its not connected to what the average person knows. The average person thinks food comes from the grocery store. So it’s the same disconnect. When you have a connection with horses it makes a real fan of the person. Slots will help but its going to
be difficult to get the people who aren’t really connected to animals to be racing fans."
* * * * * * * ** * * * * * * ** * * ********************* Wolski wins second Hervey award Congratulations are in order to our own Tom Wolski for winning his second John Hervey Award; harness racing’s most prestigious journalism prize. Tom produces and hosts ‘The Sport of Kings’ television show and writes a weekly racing column for the
Province newspaper.
Tom won the award for a human-
interest story about harness driver Andy Arsenault who was injured and sidelined for a year and his wife Brenda who successfully took over his training duties.
Once again, Congratulations Tom.
Note from The Game Editor: I would like to apologize to The Game readers & Jim Reynolds for mistakenly re-running the January Railbird Column in the February edition.
Railbird
Railbird
A Look at Racing in British Columbia
By Jim Reynolds
They’re Back in Training at Hastings Racecourse
Good Spirits at the Gap
Stall man Pete Hodge and retired backstretcher Doug Stuckless
Hard working jockey Anthony Stephen was the first rider seen on the backstretch this spring
Kat Dancer & Friends
Leading trainer Dino Condilenios takes a morning break to read The Game
The season is official when Alan Jack puts his jockey out Photo Left:
Trainer Daryl "Hoppy" Snow was side-lined by a two year old


































































































   28   29   30   31   32