New racing schedule at Hastings the next three weeks to accommodate fair

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The annual fair held on the Pacific National Exhibition grounds, where Hastings is located, begins Saturday. The irresistible smell of mini-donuts drifting from the PNE grounds will make it difficult to concentrate on horse racing at Hastings.

To accommodate the fair crowds, there will be no live racing on Saturdays or Sundays for the next three weeks. Instead racing will be conducted on Friday evenings beginning at 7 p.m. Pacific. The two Monday cards, Aug. 19 and 26 will start at 6 p.m.

The only racing at Hastings the next three weekends will be cars rushing across the racetrack to find parking spaces in the infield. The next time Thoroughbreds compete on a Saturday will be Sept. 7 when the Grade 3, $250,000 British Columbia Derby headlines the richest card of the meet. Supporting the derby are the $100,000 B.C. Oaks, $50,000 S.W. Randall Plate for 3-year-olds and up, and the $50,000 Delta Colleen for fillies and mares.

The derby should be a good one. Sunday, the Grade 3, $250,000 Canadian Derby at Century Mile drew a strong field. Undoubtedly the survivors of the 1 1/4-mile race will show up for the B.C. Derby. Greeting them will be Five Star General, who was ultra-impressive winning the Sir Winston Churchill Derby Trial in his first start at Hastings and for owner-trainer Glen Todd.

Friday’s feature at Hastings is an allowance race for 3-year-olds who have never won two races. Dat Day has been installed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the 1 1/16-mile race, which drew seven horses.

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Trained by Craig MacPherson, Dat Day is coming off a fourth-place finish in the Churchill Derby Trial. He was in the mix at the six-furlong mark, but couldn’t keep up with Five Star General, who went on to win the mile and a sixteenth race by an easy 2 1/4 lengths.

Dat Day will appreciate the class relief and is clearly the one to beat. However, he was in the same position when he finished third in a similar race won by the filly Amazonian on July 20.

The B.C.-bred son of New Year’s Day will break from post 5 with Denny Velazquez riding.

Fright Night, also sired by New Year’s Day, could pull off a small upset.

In his first start at Hastings and for trainer Steve Bryant and second overall, he was sent off as the 4-5 favorite in a $25,000 maiden claimer on July 13. However, he was completely eliminated when he hopped at the start and trailed the field by a large margin. He rallied to finish third.

In his next start, going a mile and a sixteenth in a $16,000 maiden claiming race on July 28, he didn’t break as poorly, but he did leave the starting gate tardily. The slow beginning didn’t stop him from winning by a widening 3 1/4 lengths with Richard Hamel riding.

Hamel will be aboard when he breaks from the rail for the third straight time.