After day 41 of our “winter” meet, 665 horses have made at least 1 start at Hastings. Out of this total 66 are two year olds. Unfortunately our field size has dipped once again to 7.06. So far to date 404 owners with horses which have had at least one start have participated in the meet. Yesterday at Hastings the crowds were out for the Weiner Dog Races and there were a lot of smiling faces. The handle was excellent at $590,308 and was the third best of the year which is very encouraging considering the continuing winter that we are having. Don’t worry it will soon be spring. Goodness, what will we all do when summer hits in October.
Why….extend our meet of course!
Why….extend our meet of course!
So for my prediction……………….By August 14th 12 race dates from here I will predict that we will claw our way back to just about even handle wise when you adjust for the 14 missed race dates. So why mention this? Because it is vital that we continue to move forward and demonstrate to the Management Racing Committee that slowly but surely we are putting our house in order unlike the Standardbred Sector at Fraser Downs”. More on that later. Now I am not saying that everything is great. Because it is not. We still have a falling owner/horse population year over year and the CTHS Yearling Sale in September has its problems with once again a reduced number of horses offered for sale. But with some creative out of the box thinking we will move forward and carve out a thriving niche in the entertainment market in British Columbia.
Petitions
Below is a “Petition that is circulating in the barn area at Hastings. We clearly need one voice as right now we have one group representing owners and trainers and another group representing breeders and owners. For more information you can find Mel Snow at his barn or contact him at melsnow@shaw.ca.
Below is a “Petition that is circulating in the barn area at Hastings. We clearly need one voice as right now we have one group representing owners and trainers and another group representing breeders and owners. For more information you can find Mel Snow at his barn or contact him at melsnow@shaw.ca.
Under the Constitution of "The Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association of British Columbia" (HBPA) By-Law 4.5
The Board of Directors shall on the written requisition signed in one or more counterparts by not less than the greater of (a) 10% of the members in good standing: or (b) 200 members in good standing, or such other number as is required by the Act, convene a special general meeting of the members within 21 days of the date that the requisition is deposited. The requisition shall state the object of the meeting, set forth any proposed motions to be brought before the meeting, and be deposited with the Secretary-Treasurer of the Association.
Petition: To the Board of Directors of the HBPA of BC.
The undersigned members of the HBPA believe it to be in the best interests of the thoroughbred horse industry of British Columbia that one group and only one group represent the interests of all of the owners and trainers in all matters relating to horse racing, including the management of the purse account. It is therefore requested that the board of Directors of the HBPA of BC use their best efforts to call for and establish an election between the HBPA of BC and BC Toba to determine which group will be the sole representative of BC owners and trainers.
Congratulations
Congratulations to the five horses that ran yesterday, July 17th in the S.W. Randall Plate at Hastings. When just two lengths separate 1st to 5th in a fantastic time of 1:43, just 4/5 off the track record, that’s a horse race. Obviously extra congratulations go out to the winner Crew Leader (by Pulpit) and his owners Swift Thoroughbreds.
And a job well done by his trainer Dino Condilenios.
In order of finish. Crew Leader, St. Liams Halo, Senor Rojo, Ganbei and Three Wood
“Three Wood runs a race in 1:432/5 and finishes last. Tough bunch.”
Congratulations to the five horses that ran yesterday, July 17th in the S.W. Randall Plate at Hastings. When just two lengths separate 1st to 5th in a fantastic time of 1:43, just 4/5 off the track record, that’s a horse race. Obviously extra congratulations go out to the winner Crew Leader (by Pulpit) and his owners Swift Thoroughbreds.
And a job well done by his trainer Dino Condilenios.
In order of finish. Crew Leader, St. Liams Halo, Senor Rojo, Ganbei and Three Wood
“Three Wood runs a race in 1:432/5 and finishes last. Tough bunch.”
However there is another set of congratulations that needs to go out. You see yesterday in the last race a rarity happened. Colonel Courtney ran in his 100th race. Now that’s quite a feat in this day and age. But here is the remarkable thing….he is 11 years old and he won! Now I have been checking some of my old “American Racing Manuals” and have found a horse named Joe Jones that ran in the early 1950’s. He had 175 lifetime starts with 34 wins. But I do not know his age. Also 60 years ago it was not uncommon for a horse to have 20 starts in a year. But none the less congratulations to Colonel Courtney and his owners Glen Todd and Patrick Kinsella and his trainer Troy Taylor. It was a marvel to watch him run.
Calculations
I have received several emails from individuals who either have stated that the financials are very hard to follow or that I am purposely skewing the numbers to show in a bad way the Standardbred sector.
Here in simplistic form is how it all works.
I have received several emails from individuals who either have stated that the financials are very hard to follow or that I am purposely skewing the numbers to show in a bad way the Standardbred sector.
Here in simplistic form is how it all works.
At the beginning of the year and well before the meet begins the Management Racing Committee reviews the past year and makes a number of financial assumptions on the past present and future. This comes to us in the form of The Budget for 2011.The budget has two parts. “The Expected Revenue Sources” and “The Spending of the Revenue Sources”. Now during the course of the meet if our expected revenues from the handle falls short from what we expected it in chart A. it effects what we were originally going to spend in chart B. And when this happens we adjust what we spend in chart B with a purse cut. Now here is where I have some major problems “”past, present and future”. In chart A the Standardbred sector was expected to produce 49% of the revenue that the Thoroughbred sector were expecting at the beginning of the year. Yet they received 67% of the spending in relation to the Thoroughbreds.WHY IS THIS?
Further, if you remember we were told back on May 30 by the Management Racing Committee in the following letter. “The shortfall to date is $628,000, primarily because of a decline in wagering at Fraser Downs. The working group’s analysis indicates that, by the end of the year revenue will be approximately $840,000 less than the forecasted amount”. But hold on!
It is much worse than that. By my calculations based on our handle numbers and recent CPMA reports look at the chart below.
Further, if you remember we were told back on May 30 by the Management Racing Committee in the following letter. “The shortfall to date is $628,000, primarily because of a decline in wagering at Fraser Downs. The working group’s analysis indicates that, by the end of the year revenue will be approximately $840,000 less than the forecasted amount”. But hold on!
It is much worse than that. By my calculations based on our handle numbers and recent CPMA reports look at the chart below.
The projected revenue now expected from the Standardbred sector has further dropped to a measly 33% of what we produce. But still there is no indication from the “Management Racing Committee” of any allotment percentage adjustment. And here is the worst thing of all. Well knowing that the revenue is fast disappearing from the Standardbred side, they are still allowing them to run their meet beginning in October with purses adjusted only by allotment percentages and not by the actual $1,700,000 that they are down on the revenue side. So what this means is that for each race that they run, who do you think is paying for it?
And now that takes us to next year’s budget. Clearly the allotment percentages need adjustment.Next year I would like to see 35.12% vs. 13.64%. And the difference that is taken from the Standardbred sector, the Provincial Government should be made responsible for. Anything less than this I am calling for a “steward’s enquiry”. God forbid if I hear that the loss on the Standardbred side is even greater than I expect. But that’s what blogs are for.
One Last Note
At the present time my “blog” reaches almost 70% of all industry participants. This includes owners, trainers, breeders, the management at Hastings, and The Management Racing Committee. I need 100% coverage to be completely effective in getting our message across to the decision makers of our industry. Please forward to me emails of any individuals from the thoroughbred sector side that would be interested in receiving my “blog”.
At the present time my “blog” reaches almost 70% of all industry participants. This includes owners, trainers, breeders, the management at Hastings, and The Management Racing Committee. I need 100% coverage to be completely effective in getting our message across to the decision makers of our industry. Please forward to me emails of any individuals from the thoroughbred sector side that would be interested in receiving my “blog”.
One last word…….. the trainers at our track are the glue that holds racing together. They talk with their owners, they deal with jockeys and their agents, they take instructions from the racing office and they attempt to communicate with our horses. If you are reluctant to post on this blog at least talk to me at the track. You all know who I am and you know to find me at the “gap” where I watch my horses train. Your input in all of this is vital. Hasting Racetrack has one of the most beautiful settings of all tracks in North America as well as one of the safest surfaces. Sure we would all like it to be “a mile track”……well it isn’t, but for 8 months a year it is home. I would like to keep calling it home for many more years to come.
Owner
