Hastings Racecourse: "I Just Want Racing To Thrive Here"

Thanks to a popular incentive program that rewards owners for recruiting new horses to race at Hastings, there will be plenty of new names for racegoers to conjure with, follow and, most importantly, bet on this season.

The scheme, which awards a total of $8,000 to owners who bring in horses new to Hastings and who are not first-time starters, has proved highly popular over the past two seasons.

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The incentive, although down from $9,000 in 2022, certainly has the backing of one relatively new Hastings’ owner, whose distinctive colours were carried by four horses new to the Vancouver track in 2022.

Jordan Froelich enjoyed the process of searching and identifying suitable candidates last season so much that he redoubled his efforts over the winter and, together with his trainer Dino Condilenios, has recruited five more for the coming campaign.

Froelich, who has a background in the group health benefit and RSP insurance industry, is driven by his love of racing at Hastings and a desire to help keep the numbers up as much as possible.

“I just want racing to thrive here,” he explained recently. “But let’s make no mistake about it. If they didn’t have the incentive program, I would not be bringing as many horses in.”

He continued: “I’ve claimed five to bring here this year so far to add to MR QUALITY, who we brought in last season. They’re private sales and two claims. Three from Toronto were private sales.”

Froelich’s enthusiasm for racing has been a lifetime in the making. His father, Otto, who passed away several years ago, was a friend and business associate of highly-successful local owner, Peter Redekop, and Jordan remembers vividly his dad flying off to Santa Anita, Del Mar and Golden Gate to join Redekop at the races.

And, although Otto was not an owner himself, his son’s imagination was fired and he caught the bug early.

“We didn’t do much together, my dad and I, but we’d always go to BC Cup Day ‑ which was a much bigger thing back then – and that’s kind of where I got my interest in horses,” he said. “Although my dad would think I’m crazy, I wish he was here to see it. Every-time there is a big race, or my horse is running, I think of him.”

Froelich’s silks, the colours of the German national flag and a tribute to the heritage of his father’s family, which emigrated to Canada (like so many fleeing Europe at the time) in the 1930s, were seen in action 23 times last year. Remarkably, they hit the board on 18 occasions, winning three times (MR QUALITY, DR BENNY and JERSEY LILLIE – a claim from Hastings).

His runners showed enough under the expert guidance of Condilenios to become popular at the claims box, something that Jordan was content to see happen as, for him, it’s as much about seeing the horses thrive and remain here at Hastings.

He said: “My goal is that these horses will eventually get claimed because I can then go and get another six next year! I love the process. It’s not easy, but I’m happy to go through it. Three (MR QUALITY, SKY FACTOR and VALERIE VALESKIE), are still here from the program last year and that’s what we want. But I need the incentive program to keep doing it.”

Jordan’s had help along the way and, by his own admission, the learning curve has been steep (and costly) at times.

“I’ve had lots of help,” he confirmed. “Trainer Robertino Diodoro helped me with some claims and Phil Hall (formerly leading Hastings’ trainer who now operates out of Woodbine) generously put me in touch with some people at Woodbine. I also couldn’t have done any of this without Dino’s help.”

Froelich, who now considers Condilenios a friend, lets his trainer see all the horses he’s spotted when trawling the entries in search of a new claim and they don’t proceed unless Dino is also happy that they will fit the Hastings program.

“Dino goes through all the past performances and looks for red flags. If he finds one, we move on to another horse,” Froelich revealed.

So far, the focus has been on lower-level claimers, which Jordan believes are the type of horses most suited to Hastings.

He said: “In brutal honesty, I’m looking to claim horses I know will eventually be claimed here. That’s the whole point. I love this place and I want this place to do well. And, if I’m claiming 10k, 15k or 20k horses, then most people won’t claim them here. Hastings isn’t the sort of track where people claim those kinds of horses regularly. We need the 4k to 8k horses that people want to claim.”

Despite being happy enough to eventually lose those he recruits through the claims box, Jordan believes strongly that owners dedicated enough to find and bring in horses from elsewhere should be afforded a little more protection when their new runner make its first appearance.

“I’m not doing this for myself, I’m just doing it because I love it,” he said. “But they should look at what the track’s bottom level is and then we should be able to run protected here first time out even if they’re dropped in slightly. If I claim one for say $5k at Woodbine, that’s the lowest level there. But here, I either have to run that horse protected for $8k, where I may not be competitive, or drop them in for $4k and possibly lose them immediately, despite having done all the work to identify, claim and transport them here.

“Bleeding slowly to death, or losing the horse immediately are not great choices. In my opinion, as long as you’re not dropping them significantly, then that should be allowed,” he said.

Interestingly, Froelich’s initial foray into ownership was through the Hastings Racing Club and he is yet another perfect example of how the club acts as a nursery to potential fledgling owners as they form a strong connection with the sport. He also runs a syndicate with friends who race ARIKARA and WALKINTHEWALK under the Side Pot Stables banner.

Side Pot, or not, Froelich has proved he’s “all in” when it comes to owning at Hastings and hopefully his commitment to the track, the horses and the claiming game will prove successful and inspire others to follow his example.