2 days ago
Friday night racing at Hastings Racecourse is the perfect way to kick-off the weekend
Friday night racing returns to Hastings Racecourse this week, signalling the start of summer in the city and offering Vancouver sports fans a chance to experience the excitement of horse racing under the floodlights.
'Friday nights at Hastings are a unique sporting event in Vancouver and very much a part of summer's social whirl,' David Milburn, president of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association of B.C., said this week.
'It's a long day for the horsemen,' he continued, 'especially when we're all back racing the following afternoon, but the horses enjoy racing in the evening and it's my favourite time of the year to have runners.'
Milburn added: 'It's also a chance for us to show off our wonderful sport to a different group of people, something that's very important for us, as Friday nights tend to bring out a younger crowd of revellers, many of whom are experiencing racing for the first time. It's a more relaxed vibe, with a DJ helping things go with a swing and it's the perfect place to kick off the weekend.'
Trainer Dino Condilenios, who saddles two in Friday's sixth race, agrees with Milburn that Friday nights bring a different crowd out to Hastings and he's a fan of evening racing, despite the extra workload it brings to him and his dedicated team.
Condilenios said: 'I like the fact we get a younger crowd on for Friday nights. I don't love it for myself and the workers, as we have to be here late and wake up super-early the following morning, but I certainly like the cooler air and it's more comfortable for the horses in the summer.'
Friday night's six-race card is the first of nine slated for this summer. The action gets underway at seven and is headlined by a $20,000 Allowance contest, which features a talented group of four-year-olds taking on the mile-and-sixteenth course.
Trainer Barbara Anderson-Heads saddles two in the race, including the likely favourite Snap To It who, already this season, was a narrow runner-up in two similar contests. Her second runner, Touch The Sun, moves up to Allowance company on the back of a gate-to-wire Maiden win at the end of May, and the barn could easily have the 1-2.
Hastings race selections:
First race Friday 7 p.m.
Race 5 (9 p.m.):
Beaten less than a length in total when twice a runner-up in similar contests, Snap To It can get the job done in what looks, on paper at least, to be a slightly less onerous challenge.
Race 6 (9:30 p.m.):
There were plenty of sage racegoers left scratching their heads when Max Booster had his 'win' taken away by the stewards for what looked like minimal interference last time. He can strike a blow for justice and make amends under the Friday night lights
