Thoroughbred Night of Champions

By Lindsay Ward

The achievements of the Alberta Thoroughbred industry were celebrated in person at the

Night of Champions held on Friday, May 6th at Century Mile Racetrack and Casino in Nisku.

After two years of a virtual awards format, over one hundred people filled the Paddock

Room representing breeders, owners, trainers and the backstretch to enjoy the dinner, awards and dancing entertainment.

Master of Ceremonies, Ken Gee, got the evening underway with greetings from Chief Executive Officer of Horse Racing Alberta, Kent Verlik, who discussed the best path forward for horse racing in Alberta with the new stakeholder engagement and appeals process. He offered a “thank you all for your dedication and passion for the sport of horse racing in Alberta.”

The dinner and entertainment were followed by the award presentations with GREEK GEEK winning all four of the categories he was eligible for including Horse of the Year, Champion Sprinter, Champion Older Horse and Champion Alberta bred. The Misremembered gelding earned $174,400 last season with seven wins from nine starts including four stakes; the Alberta Breeders’ Handicap, the CTHS Sales Stake, the Century Mile Handicap and the Don Getty Handicap. GREEK GEEK established a new track record on August 15th, 2021 over one and one sixteenth miles with a time of 1.42.36. GREEK GEEK is a 2018 CTHS Alberta sale graduate bred by Moonshine Meadow Ranch and owned by Riversedge Racing Stables Ltd.

Highfield Investment Group Inc. was named Leading Breeder for the second successive year with Highfield bred runners earning $420,276 from 15 wins last season.

Special recognition and appreciation is given to the Night of Champions sponsors: Horse Racing Alberta, Bar None Ranches Ltd., Century Mile Racetrack and Casino, Century Downs Racetrack and Casino, the HBPA of Alberta, Roy McLellan, Moore Equine Veterinary Centre Ltd., Paddockhurst Stables, Rocky Mountain Turf Club and Westana Equine Training and Rehab Centre. Further acknowledgement is also expressed to On Track Media & Entertainment Inc. for their generous sponsorship and support with the production of the Night of Champions video program. The attendees enjoyed the dancing demos and entertainment offered by the Sugar Swing Ballroom.

Leading Breeder Award Highfield

Investment Group Inc. **CORRECTION**

Night of Champions Acknowledges Leading Jockeys by both Earnings and Wins

The CTHS Alberta office would like to acknowledge that an error has been discovered regarding the awarding of the 2021 Leading Jockey – The Lou Davies Memorial Trophy at the May 6th Night of Champions. In calculating the winner for 2021, the Jockey Club stats used for the calculation were based on highest earnings not on wins as has been done in the past. By using the highest earnings this meant that Mr. Enrique Gonzalez was presented with the trophy rather than Mr. Rico Walcott who had the highest number of wins at Century Mile Racetrack and Casino in 2021. We would like to express our deepest apologies to both Mr. Gonzalez and Mr. Walcott for this error. This will be corrected on our stats and we will note in our Night of Champion archives that Mr. Walcott was the 2021 Leading Jockey (Wins) and Mr. Gonzalez the 2021 Leading Jockey (Earnings). The presentation of the 2021 Leading Jockey – The Lou Davies Memorial Trophy will be presented to Mr. Walcott during the 2022 racing season.

Champion Three Year Old Filly SHELTERED BAY Multiple Award Winner GREEK GEEK Champion Two Year Old Filly ONEOFTHEMGIRLS A Night of Champions!

The 2021 Alberta Thoroughbred horse category award winners are listed below:

Champion Claimer - The H.B.P.A. Trophy DUNE D’ORO Champion Sprinter - The Century Downs Racetrack and Casino Trophy GREEK GEEK Champion Two Year Old Filly - The Dwight McLellan Memorial Trophy ONEOFTHEMGIRLS Champion Two Year Old Colt - The Rocky Mountain Turf Club Trophy ASYOUBELIEVE Champion Three Year Old Filly - The Dave Kapchinsky Memorial Trophy Sponsored by Paddockhurst Stables Inc. SHELTERED BAY Champion Three Year Old Colt - Sponsored by Bar None Ranches Ltd. TONY’S TAPIT Champion Older Mare - The Moore Equine Veterinary Centre Ltd. Trophy INFINITE PATIENCE Champion Older Horse - The Century Mile Racetrack and Casino Trophy GREEK GEEK Champion Alberta Bred - The Ted Connor Memorial Trophy GREEK GEEK Horse of the Year - The Horse Racing Alberta Trophy GREEK GEEK Further information may be found on the C.T.H.S. Alberta website at cthsalta.com.