HorseRacingBC Serving the British Columbia Horseracing community
Issue # 55
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www.horseracingbc.ca
Hastings Season Ends
October 2013
Live Racing Following Breeders Cup Live Harness Racing will follow the Breeders Cup races at Fraser Downs November 2. Post time will be at 7 p.m. Two Breeders Stakes eliminations will run that night and a full card is expected Don Lovier Passes It is with great sorrow that I report the death of my friend Don Lovier on Sunday morning, October 20th. Don lost his battle to Myelofibrosis (a form of Leukemia). His friend and loving partner, Jackie Ballas, was at his bedside. Don was one of those horsemen, once you got to know him; you soon realized he was a keeper. Just ask guys some of the many guys that put in their seasons at Sandown. Besides helping others, Don loved talking horses, playing liars dice, cards, and he was a very enthusiastic fisherman. Jim Vinnell To read Jim Vinnell’s full message please go to harnessbc.ca Looking for photos HorseRacingBC is looking for old photos of people or horses from the past. Jockeys, trainers,and backstretch personnel from BC’s racing history are welcome and will be used in future issues. Each photo will be scanned and returned to it’s owner in the condition it is received. No win photos please. The Thoroughbred Ladies Club of BC, whose charity work and scholarship program has benefited backstretch workers at Hastings Racecourse since 1973, meets the first Tuesday each month. If you would like to join them in their worthwhile efforts or help at the occasional function, please call: Linda Sentes at 604-318-7949 or Barb Williams at 604-542-8951.
Rico Walcott Salutes The Crowd Aboard Title Contender After Winning The 67Th BC Derby.
Hastings Photo Contest Winner
“Not me boss. I’m out of here.” This horse wants nothing to do with the valet’s suggested direction. Photo by Rebecca Brown using a Nikon D7000 with a 70-200mm lens. HorseRacingBC is owned and produced by Jim Reynolds. For advertising and editorial contact: Jim Reynolds 604-533-4546 jimreynolds@uniserve.com
Trevor Reynolds photo
Issue # 55
Racing News
Kid Katabatic Dead… by Glen Todd
Kid Katabatic one of the best British Columbia breds of all time passed away on Sunday we learned yesterday. The Kid started 39 times in his racing career for owners Keith and Shauna Ferguson and Melvin and Lindsay Russell. The Breeders were Phil Reimer, W. Lee and Shauna VanOostdam and Shauna was also his trainer throughout his great career. Kid Katabatic ended his racing career on September 2nd, 2002 winning the S. W. Randall Plate with a neck win. He had a total of 17 wins, 2 seconds and 6 thirds and total winnings of $626,815.00. Kid Katabatic won the 1997 Longacres Mile with Chris Loseth, who rode him in several of his wins, aboard.
www.horseracingbc.ca
CTHS-BC Annual Yearling Sale a Huge Success.
The CTHS-BC Annual Yearling and Mixed Sale, held September 29th at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, was a great success. The great early fall weather drew hundreds of local buyers and several from other provinces and Washington State. The sale grossed $1,329,200 from a total of 92 horses sold. A tally slightly down from 2012 when 80 horses sold for a total of $1,341,100 The average was also a bit lower at $14,448 compared to $15,965 in 2012. The median was $9000 which was $15,000 ahead of 2012. The sales topper was Hip #63 a bay colt by Second in Command out of Mascaretta by Regal Remark that sold for $102,000 by White House Stables to Glen Todd of North American Horse Company. A new feature this year was a $60,000 draw. Six lucky buyers received a $10,000 credit that could be used only against purchases.
Hip # 63 Sales topper at $105,000
CatchAMoment Photos
The horse I bet on was so slow, the jockey kept a diary of the trip.
Need stabling in Ontario?
Langley’s Neighbourhood Feed Store
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October 2013
McCallum Resigns
Harness Racing BC suffered a setback last week when it’s spokesman and CEO Doug McCallum and Secretary Treasurer Paul Gilley resigned from the board of directors. According to McCallum it was for personal reasons. “I had done what I set out to do. They are on good financial ground and are racing ten months a year. I wish them all the luck in the world,” said McCallum.
Wittup Appointed
Former Standardbred Canada Chair Jackson Wittup has been appointed the new executive director of Harness Racing BC. “Jackson’s vast knowledge of the racing industry will be a great asset for the future of Harness Racing BC,” Vinnell said via statement. Wittup, a longtime participant in the Canadian harness racing industry, is a past three-term Chair of Standardbred Canada and also served as the Director of Racing at Fraser Downs from the fall of 2008 until the spring of 2012. “I have a passion for racing,” said Wittup. “It is what I have done for 38 years.”
Issue # 55
www.horseracingbc.ca
The Thoroughbred Ladies Club…by Linda Sentes Fire! The smell of smoke, the anxious screams of terrified equines, the scrambling of desperate grooms and owners to free their charges from their stalls and almost futile attempts to direct them to the safety of the racetrack away from the flames. Hall of Fame trainer, Jack Russell suffered a fatal heart attack while flagging running horses during the pandemonium that evening. I can’t even to begin to imagine the horror, panic and shock this fire caused that summer evening of 1972 on the backstretch of Exhibition Park, but I remember witnessing the devastation left behind in the ensuing days, as cleanup of the charred buildings was carried out. Many people stabled or working in the affected barns lost everything. Anna Byrne, and Ann Hall were sitting together one morning shortly thereafter, discussing those same losses and deliberating how to help those in distress. On August 14, 1972, their discussion brought together a group of 17 ladies in the home of Ann Hall which precipitated the formation of what was to become ‘The Thoroughbred Ladies Club of BC’ or ’TLC’. (Rather apt, don’t you think?) The purpose of this organization was to raise money to help anyone who was hurt or had lost everything in this fire and was not covered by insurance. This small nucleus originally wanted to be an auxiliary of the HBPA, but it was soon determined that the charter of the HBPA did not permit same. Still determined, they created TLC and the HBPA generously donated $1,000 to their efforts, some of which had already been raised by the ladies. Original founding members, in no particular order, were:
Anna Byrne, Ann Hall, Dorothy Lucas, June Anderson, Bea Dahl, Margaret Fennel, Mary Tomlenovich, Thelma Dyson, Olive Gilbert, Mary Morrison, Rosebud Allen, Pepsi Jackson, Emma Munt, Shirley Collins, Gladys Hambleton, Lola Ciminelli, Edie Fisher, Hazel Kirk, Doris Cliff, Jeannie Spence and Kit Ross. Their Charter was drawn up on October, 1973, with three amendments added September, 1975. Within five years, their membership increased to 40, then 60 and by 1978, to over 83 ladies. Many of the ladies, were President or part of the executive body at some time during their association with this charity group. Their mission is to provide assistance to injured or sick backstretch personnel and encourage goodwill between all facets of the Thoroughbred industry in B.C. Raising funds to help those in need became their lifelong priority and the means were varied. Silent Stud Auctions, dances, raffles, Santa Anita and more recently Breeder’s cup trips, fashion shows and catering at the beer garden during the annual CTHS horse sales. They even produced a cook book of their favorite recipes to sell. The ladies organized and volunteered at the annual HBPA picnics and the Children’s Christmas party. But enterprising gals that they are, they never missed an opportunity to raise funds by having 50/50 raffles and gift raffles at those functions. In the earlier years, they not only helped backstretch members in need, but donated yearly to other worthy causes.
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October 2013
Also part of their philanthropy, is the Education Scholarships, and hosting the Old-timers social luncheon. Though I am not certain how long running it was, each spring, before the racing season started, the ladies would host a coffee and doughnuts morning to reacquaint themselves with all on the backstretch. About four years ago, an exiting president suggested that we offer something more substantial and the ‘Breakfast on Us’ weekend was born the following spring, operating for three years now. Through the four decades of their existence they have remained a constant in the local Thoroughbred community. Membership has now dwindled to 25 active participants but they still manage to provide most of the services they have done over the passing years. The Ladies would like to sincerely thank all those whose generosity they called upon to help them accomplish what they set out to do 41 years ago. To list them here would be a gargantuan task, but they know who they are and TLC is very grateful.
Issue # 55
www.horseracingbc.ca
October 2013