Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse will start its Thoroughbred season on May 7, the first year full season for the track since 2019. An eight-race card has been assembled for opening day with a first race post time of 2:00 p.m. Pacific. The card will begin with a moment of silence for the late Glen Todd, one of the industry’s most influential people, who passed away this spring.
The 45-day meet runs through Oct. 16 with racing mostly on Saturdays and Sundays. The first Sunday is May 15. The highlight of the meet is the Grade 3, $125,000 British Columbia Derby on Sept. 10. The 1 1/8-mile feature is supported by the $100,000 British Columbia Oaks, $50,000 Delta Colleen for fillies and mares, and the $50,000 S. W. Randall Plate for 3-year-olds and up.
Nichele Milner, regional manager of racing operations, said the roster of jockeys returning for the 2022 season includes Antonio Reyes (2021’s leading rider), Amadeo Perez, Antonio Reyes, Scott Williams, twins Lenny and Learie Seecharan, Silvino Morales, and Efrain Hernandez.
“We’ll also have Angela Straight as part of that lineup,” Milner said. “She’s ridden at Portland Meadows, Turf Paradise [Phoenix, Arizona], Emerald Downs [Auburn, Washington], and made her debut here [Hastings] last season. I know the fans are going to relate to her in a positive way.”
Ryan McCartney, the new director of operations at Hastings, told Daily Racing Form that work is being done to spruce up the track.
“The property has basically been sitting for a couple of years so there was a lot of maintenance that was needed,” said McCartney to DRF’s Randy Goulding.. “We are doing a lot to beautify the site, which you will see over the next few months. The angle we are taking now is that we are open for business, we have the same fantastic product we’ve always had, and just you wait until Canada Day [July 1] to see all the wonderful things we will have done.”
Canadian Thoroughbred has daily selections for Hastings Racecourse at the “Racing Picks” tab HERE.
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