Hoss Talk

When news broke late Thursday that Hastings management and horsemen had reached agreement to race an additional 8 days beginning Nov. 3, a great sigh of relief could be heard throughout the stable area.

For horsemen, the extension of their season in any way, is a positive sign for breeders and owners.

"This move means owners won't have to lay up their thoroughbreds as long over the winter months," said Mel Snow, president of the Horsemen's Benevolent Protective Association.

For Woodbine Entertainment, (owners of Hastings), it was a move taken with much reservation.

"Our main concerns are, will they [horsemen] be able to fill the races, and would it be a drain on the purse pool?" said Phil Heard, president of Hastings Entertainment. "What this is doing is eating into next year's purses. That is a major concern for us. Depending on how the wagering goes, this could be a costly move."

"For horsemen, there weren't any options," said Heard. "The HBPA made a legitimate decision that they would rather extend the season. Their reasons were to keep horses both here and in the Northwest [U.S.]. Therefore, horses would be made available soon to race when the next season opened."

Even at that, it was against Hastings' philosophy that they agreed to the extension.

"I think everything will turn out fine and things will smooth out. Especially once we get our teletheatres up and running." added Heard.

Aside from technical issues that need to be worked out with the standardbred industry, those extra race dates are a positive sign for Chuck Keeling, General Manager at Fraser Downs in Cloverdale.

"The more both industry's show live horse racing, the better it is for both industries," said Keeling. "The bottom line boils down to revenue."

GREAT PERKS!

Have you ever noticed the similarities between owning a racehorse and running a sports franchise?

Think about it. Owning a racehorse has many of the same perks as it does for millionaires who own professional teams. Horse owners get to name their team, pick the players and negotiate their asking price. If the athlete works well, they stay, if not they're on a van. You get to hire the coach and fire the coach, yell when you lose, cheer when you win. The annual CTHS Yearling and Mixed Horse sale is Tuesday, 2 p.m. at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley. For more information, call 604-574-0145.

NO PAL OF PNE

Hastings trainer Tom Longstaff thought he did the right thing shipping his stable to a nearby farm during the recent PNE. Two days ago, Longstaff returned to Hastings, only to have his big horse Don't Pali Me injured when scared by noise from construction of tents next to the Hastings Stable area.

"You'd think they had some obligation to their tenants, who are us," said Longstaff. "They just don't care. Where does it stop? My horse [Don't Pal Me] will be favoured in the $100,000 Jack Diamond Futurity [September 28th], and now he may not run. This is how I make a living. They [PNE] never told us anything about this new construction."

For Longstaff, it is the second time one of his horses has been injured. Rainbows Forever was injured when excited by loud rock music from a basketball contest during the fair.

FINISH LINES: The Sport of Kings Saturday 11 a.m. on Citytv, features jockey Chris Loseth's milestone 200th Hastings/Exhibition Park stake victory.

Tom Wolski can be seen on Sport of Kings, (New time) 11:00 a.m. Saturday on Citytv

twolski@shaw.ca

Idnumber: 200209060072
Edition: Final
Story Type: Sports; Column
Length: 586 word
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Source: Vancouver Province
E-mail Tommy Wolski at twolski@shaw.ca