Horesracingbc july

HorseRacingServing the British Columbia Horseracing community

Issue #63

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Future Winner?

Canada’s Derby Queen’s Plate! www.horseracingbc.ca

July 2014

Looking for Photos We are looking for old photos of people or horses from the past; jockeys, trainers, backstretch personnel are all 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.

Hall of Fame Members Acknowledged Through the month of August there will be seven more B.C. Horse Racing Hall of Fame members acknowledged with races named in their honour: Cline Hoggard, Sam Krasner, Alan May and Red Rock Farm on Aug. 3; Dave Forster on August 4; Sam Randall and W.H. (Bud) Macdonald Aug. 22.

Summer Racing in Oregon

Summer racing in Oregon beganwith the three-day Eastern Oregon Livestock Show in Union June 6-8 with three days of racing.

It was followed by Grants Pass Downs nine-day meet, June 1415, 21-22, 28-29 and July 4-6, at the Josephine County Fairgrounds.

The Crooked River Roundup, held at the Crook County Fairgrounds in Prineville, ranconsecutively for four days from July 9-12.

In August, the Tillamook County Fair will also hold four days of racing, August 6-9, at the fairgrounds situated just off the state’s northern coast line.

The Harney County Fair, located in Burns, will host three days of racing September 5-7.

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 604-318-7949 Barb Williams at 604-542-8951.

50 Years After Northern Dancer’s Historic Win His Descendent Lexie Lou Wins North America’s Oldest Stakes Race Lexie Lou charmed many racing fans and produced countless new ones with her win at the 155th edition of the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine on Sunday.

A total of $9,079,520 million was wagered on the 13-race card, the second highest handle recorded in Queen’s Plate history. A record

$3,074,410, including $653,423 on the Jackpot Hi-5, was bet on the Queen’s Plate race itself.

Horseplayers were treated to a strong race card, topped off by a large, quality 15-horse field in the Queen’s Plate.

All would agree that Lexie Lou, the lone filly in the race, was truly outstanding in winning the historic record-

breaking event.

With no turnstiles (admission and parking are free) Woodbine estimated place the Queen’s Plate crowd at approximately 30,000.

WEG was also pleased to donate $1 for every program and grandstand ticket sold to Rethink Breast Cancer.

“Our social media also showed record numbers across all

metrics, including Queen’s Plate ‘day-of’ Twitter and Facebook impressions, which were over double last year’s numbers.”

The Queen’s Plate is the first jewel in the Canadian Triple Crown. The next race is set for Tuesday, July 29 at Fort Erie, with the final gem of the three-race series, the Breeders’ Stakes, on

HorseRacingBC is owned and produced by Jim Reynolds.

For advertising and editorial contact: Jim Reynolds 604-533-4546 jimreynolds@uniserve.com

turf, set for Sunday, August 17 at Woodbine.

Lexie Lou paid $8.20, $4.50 and $3.30, combining with Ami’s Holiday ($9.70, $5.80) for a $63.90 (14-15) exactor. A 14-15-4 (Asserting Bear, $6) triactor was worth $387.40, while a $1 Superfecta [14-15-4-6 (We Miss Artie)] paid $695.80.

www.horseracingbc.ca

Issue #63

Hats at the Races

In the Golden Days popular with the men of horseracing hats (and some women) were requisite. Take while wide-brimmed a look at any crowd straw hats are still faphoto from the 1800's voured by the ladies. through the 1960's and The actor Nicholas it is a sea of hats—feCampbell (DaVinci's doras, pork pies and Inquest) set the tone the occasional bowler a few years ago when for the men and wide he wore a fedora to the brimmed hats for the races every week-end. ladies. Then about the Soon others followed early to mid-sixties and wearing a classic hats fell out of vogue hat to the races was and faded from the once again cool. racetrack scene.

But in these early days of the new century hats are making a big comeback.

Mr. Cool, Robert Lamontagne; Watch the Ken- Lead singer for Montreal’s hottest new band ‘The Smoking Catfish’ tucky Derby and triple crown races, But hats, like grocerlook around the Hasties don't just magically ings grandstand on any appear on shelves, they are constructed by skilled craftsmen.

Following the trend to one of it's sources brings us to Monweek-end—hats are treal where Magill Hat coming back into style. Manufacturing, under They're chic, trendy the direction of father and popular again. Fe- and son Marvin and doras seem to be most Jarred Shostak, have

been making fine gentlemen's hats for over 60 years. Quality hats, not Chinese knock-offs but made from good felt by skilled tradesmen.

The making of a hat starts with the felt and Magill imports the finest rabbit felt from Europe — felt is a non-woven fabric formed by treating the fibers with heat and steam pressure. It is available in different weights or thicknesses and is a primary fabric

It all starts with the cone

used in making hats.

The felt is shipped flat or in the form of a cone and the first step in the manufacture of a hat is to shape the cone. This is done with a machine that steams and presses the hat into the desired shape.

Next comes pouncing or sanding the felt until it is smooth and

free of loose hair. then on to the brim trimmer before the drying process.

The machines that do these tasks look to be last century old but as Jarrod explains the machinery ranges from about 50 to 75 years old, but it definitely has that well used patina.

Maybe what they say is true, that the quality produced by older machines is superior to that of today's 'Made in China' technology.

They do turn out good hats.

Next the brim flange (around the edge of the brim) and the sweat

TREATING INFLAMMATION Inflammation is a direct result of lameness in performance horses. One of the main causes of lameness and inflammation is repetition in the exercise program or the discipline that they are performing in. If you cannot remove the inflammation you cannot repair your horse.

We have tried using magnet blankets and wraps and found that they could not remove the inflammation. We have found no scientific evidence to rebuke our findings. If anyone has information to the contrary please contact us as we really need all of the information on the topic.

It has been explained to us that when a horse is over worked or becomes injured through accident, the cells start a process that lowers the bioelectric activity which is normal in a healthy horse. This causes a reduction in oxygen and fresh blood supply to the compromised cells. This starts the inflammation cycle in some or one of the following groups: muscles. Joints, tendons, ligaments or hooves.

The LEG SAVER’S waveform polarizes and penetrates the cellular membranes and allows the increase of the flow of nutrients to and toxins from these damaged cells. This process quickly increases the oxygen and blood supply to the injury (inflammation). This is how the LEG SAVER starts to work at the cellular level in the horse’s body to reduce and eliminate the inflammation.

The LEG SAVER is the only product that will remove or reduce the inflammation in all injured horses.

BLOOD FLOW IS THE ONLY WAY TO REDUCE AND ELIMINATE INFLAMMATION. THE LEG SAVER CREATES BLOOD FLOW TO THE INJURY.

When treating the horse with the Ting Point therapy you can really accelerate the healing process by treating the main organs through the Ting Points and Meridians. We have been doing this for 15 years with tremendous success. Treat the LUNGS, HEART, LARGE INTESTINE, IMMUNE SYSTEM), LIVER HOOVES & MUSCLES, KIDNEY, BLADDER, STOMACH, SPLEEN and other problems. The results are truly amazing. The process is easy and efficient. You can treat the Race Horse heart and lungs and achieve a 20 to 30% increase in their stamina at the end of the race. There is one caveat as you must reduce the amount of exercise you do the week before the race or event.

For further information and a Free Diagnostic & Demonstration contact:

GARY DESROCHES www.equi-stimlegsaver.com legsaver@gmail.com 1-800-595-7408 toll free

July 2014

band are sized and added. These tasks are performed by a handful of long-time employees who are really artisans, making hats at Magill's most of their adult lives.

Finally the labels are applied and the hat is ready to ship.

Ed. note. This is, of course, a simplified version of how a hat is made. The skill and

Where to Get Your Hat Cleaned.

Up until recently there was a hat shop or hat maker in every city where a gentleman’s hat could be cleaned in a number of ways, Today sadly that is not so, but there are a few.

Stampede Tack Cloverdale, BC does an excellent job of cleaning your hat with or without chemicals.

Bernie Utz Hats Seattle Washington This venerable hat store on union St. has been at the same location since 1934 and offers a free cleaning service for their customers.

We have the best selection of hats for men and women for every occasion.

Wear a hat to the track, it will not only look very stylish, it might bring you luck

9188 Glover Road Fort Langley, B.C. Tel: (604) 882-8077 roxans@telus.net www.roxannshats.com for all your horse insurance needs

artistry that goes in to Equine the making of a good Insurance

Underwriters Ltd.

since 1980

106 - 3701 E. Hastings St. Burnaby, B.C. V5C 2H6 (604) 293-1531 FAX: (604) 293-1248 www.equineunderwriters.com

Issue # 63

www.horseracingbc.ca

July 2014

The Good Ol’ Days…

CTHS British Columbia

Yearling & Mixed Sale SALE GRAD STAKES WINNERS IN 2013 !

Andallthatitmeans Architecture Dance the Wind Dashing Daisy Deviance Herbie D Kiri’s Gal Neverabettercause Ruby’s Victory Stepupforthemoney Taylors Deal Tempered Steel

Thunderbird Show Park Langley, British Columbia

Tuesday September 9, 2014 - 2:00 pm

Sales Grad HERBIE D 2013 - Horse of the Year (Open & BC-Bred ) - Champion Older Handicap Horse (Open & BC-Bred ) - Champion Sprinter - Winner of G3 Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs www.cthsbc.org

For catalogue information: 604.574.0145 ~ cthsbc@cthsbc.org ~ #201 - 17687 - 56A Avenue, Surrey, B.C. V3S 1G4

Issue #63

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July 2014

The Pomp, Majes Canada’s 155th

Issue # 63

sty And Magic Of h Queen’s Plate

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July 2014

Issue #63

www.horseracingbc.ca

Remembering‌

July 2014

Bev Miles and Peter Stephen

Bev Miles passed in late June after having been sick for a long time.

Cancer killed her, and it is standard under such circumstances to write that someone died after a long, courageous battle with the disease. In Bev’s case, that would be an understatement. She fought for years, having had several recurrences, yet managed to get back to the track after all of them, save for the last.

Bev was one of those reliable, competent people that make it possible for a backstretch to operate. She walked horses, started grooming, and acquired the skills necessary to become an assistant trainer and, eventually, a trainer with her own barn. She trained from 2006-2008 prior to getting sick. She was a dues-paid member of our community and a racetracker through and through.

The trainer Peter Stephen won a lot of races when Bev worked in his barn and during the time she was his assistant trainer, he had some very good seasons. Unfortunately, he left this world a short time before Bev, following a life that saw him train and race at 12 different tracks in Western Canada and the US for 30 years, although most of his career was at Hastings (Exhibition Park), and his greatest successes were there.

He left the racetrack in 2006 after a career that produced 394 wins from 2,545 starts and another 704 places while winning over $3.5 million dollars. He trained 9 stakes-winners and won 12 stakes with them. My Man Friday, who won the Alberta Derby at Stampede and the Klondike at Exhibition in 1976, was his first stakes winner. Columbia Moon, who won the Speed Handicap in 2005, was his last. In between came Emotional Hit, Peggy’s Valentine, Work Visa, Sparklin Kat, Leloup (who won the S.W. Randall Plate), Mark of Diablo and the three-time stakes winning sprinter, Columbia King.

Bev Miles was with Peter for many years and many of those horses. They both worked hard and a number of our visual memories of Peter Stephen will have him crawling around underneath a horse because he did spend a lot of time there, as did Bev. Few if any of us can remember them with a coffee cup at the gap.

When Peter Stephen left the track after the 2006 season our local racing community lost touch with him. Now we have lost Bev Miles. There are many people at the track these days that never knew them, but there are still a lot of us who were there when they were. That time, and those times, form a large part of who many of us are and what we did with significant portions of our lives. We do not want to forget that, and we should not forget them. courtesy Richard Yates HBPABC

Issue # 63

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July 2014

Women At the Races… Marion MacHaffie…by Marcy Emery

In a conversation tracing the arc of a life in horses spanning six decades, Marion MacHaffie’s anecdotes and recollections pour out like lemonade on a hot day. Names, dates and characters human and equine are remembered crisply and without a hint of sourness. There’s still a lot of zing and zest left in this business of horses and Marion MacHaffie handily squeezes it out and readily shares the refreshment.

After a false start aboard an auction pony at the PNE Horse Show in the early 60’s, Marion’s father was so embarrassed he promptly bought her a proper show horsewhat the kids today call an Off-Track Thoroughbred- and she was off to the races in the Hunter/ Jumpers. The tutelage of the legendary Pam Arthur molded young Marion into a rider with the skill, finesse and attention to detail it took to be successful in the show ring and in the life equine. Before long, Marion was running her own stable in

Ladner.

A neighbour there would introduce her to the world of racing and once bitten, the show horse girl, ever-loyal to the Thoroughbreds, would fall almost entirely under its spell in short order.

Groom’s licence in ’71, gallop licence the next year, proper study and attention to detail leading to a trainer’s licence in ’78. All this while running a stable, showing horses and keeping a day-job as a schoolteacher.

Getting on horses and getting to really know them would make Marion MacHaffie’s little lemonade stand a grand profit. Her eye led her to a particularly good batch of lemons in a $500 Bastogne filly called Candy’s Fine who won first out, with the offer of a free breeding to Bastogne attached. This in turn brought the offer of a sibling colt for $1000 with the breeder Mike Wolansky keeping a third share. The colt was Hurricane Benny, Canadian Derby winner of 1990. It was then-husband and

trainer Rob Van Overschot’s idea to run Benny in the big race and Marion didn’t disagree with the plan.

There was, at the end of that day, enough lemonade to buy a house.

There have been many more lovely and notable horses since then, all of them treated with that same care and attention to detail that makes for success. Marion and Al MacHaffie started out on their farm in Aldergrove with ideas of breeding but quickly got realistic. And it’s worked. They’ve had a foal of their own here and there and taken in horses for rest and rehab. It’s a team effort and they make a beautiful pair. Rob and Vicky Gilker, Craig MacPherson and Sam Shead all use the Geminimac Thoroughbred farm as their first port of call for horses needing a bit of downtime

Langley’s Hour Glass Studio features hand etched horse images on stem-ware, plates and giftware.

We also etch stable and corporate logos.

Great Year Round Gifts!

or extra care. As Vicky Gilker notes, “Marion treats all the boarders as though they were her own. We’ve never gone wrong with her.”

An interesting byproduct of the old lemonade stand would be the QH known as Puck. As one of four QH babies brought onto the farm to keep the lonely TB foals company, Puck has turned out, under the instruction of Travis

Rempel and Cayley Johnson, to be an excellent cow horse and the best-broke horse Marion MacHaffie has ever ridden.

He’s proved a valuable buddy to the young TB’s in training and is working simultaneously to keep Marion interested in riding.

Not a small job, for sure.

It’s all lemonade when you look at it the right way and Marion

MacHaffie doesn’t have any other way of looking. Positive, studied and always moving forward, Marion is an example of getting it done and staying above. It ain’t all easy but you’ll never hear her complain about any of it. The lady is a lesson in grace and power, just like the horses she loves so much.

WTBOA Sales Graduates ROCK! First 2013 WTBOA Sale Graduate Sets New Track Record in 2-year-old Debut!

Trackattacker not only blew away his competition by 9 lengths in his initial outing, a 4 1/2-furlong MSW race, he bettered the Emerald Downs track mark to :49.98! His half-brother by LUCKY PULPIT sells in the 2014 sale.

WTBOA Summer Yearling & Mixed Sale Tuesday, August 26 Morris J. Alhadeff Sales Pavilion • Emerald Downs • Auburn, WA

This year’s WTBOA Summer Sale features yearlings by 2014 leading West Coast sires Lucky Pulpit, Tribal Rule, Kafwain, Marino Marini, Stormin Fever, Rocky Bar, Papa Clem, Dixie Chatter, Harbor the Gold, Parker’s Storm Cat and more ...

As well as other top 2014 national sires such as City Zip, Yes It’s True, Successful Appeal, Pure Prize, Colonel John, Tiz Wonderful, Big Brown and more . . .

Also featuring 18 broodmares, many offering 3-in-1 packages, and horses of racing age.

Join us for an exciting Longacres Mile (G3), Sunday, August 24, and stay for the sale!

www.HourGlassStudio.com

or call 604.308.9481 for more information

“The little sales company that could” Catalogs available in mid-July 253-288-7878 • 253-288-7890, fax maindesk@washingtonthoroughbred.com

Issue #63

www.horseracingbc.ca

July 2014