Hastings Racing Club helps parlay casual fans into full fledged owners

Article content

Last weekend’s Kentucky Derby drew its largest North American TV audience in 30 years with an average of 17.7 million viewers tuning into NBC to see Sovereignty win the 151st running of the storied race, according to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics,

How much of the six per cent uptick in interest was due to the recent Netflix series Race for the Crown is a matter of opinion. However, as we also saw with the surge in popularity of Formula One following the streaming service’s Drive to Survive reality series, it can’t have hurt.

While there was certainly a larger-than-normal crowd watching from the Hastings’ grandstand last weekend, the difficult trick for Vancouver’s racing industry is turning new, or once-a-year, racegoers into regular fans and ultimately, horse owners. Horse Racing, despite being described on the Netflix show by former Major League Baseball star-turned-race horse-owner Jayson Werth as the “most underrated sport on the planet,” can be daunting to the newcomer.

At Hastings, which hosts live racing this weekend, the path to ownership and understanding the sport is simplified through the popular Hastings Racing Club which, with an annual membership fee of $300, puts the Sport of Kings within the reach of ordinary fans.

Now in its tenth year, the Hastings Racing Club has around 150 members who, as part of their membership, are also registered as individual owners. And they will be out in force at Hastings this weekend with Bakburner, one of the club’s three horses, slated to carry the club’s distinctive blue and white silks. The club is managed by Mark Freeman and Matt Elder, both of whom began their Horse Racing adventure as members.

“The experience for people once they join up and get here is incredible,” Freeman said. “And the benefits you get as a partial owner of a horse just fosters more interest in the game.”

Formerly a professional hockey player, Freeman is a walking advertisement for the club’s ability to convert its members into fully-fledged Horse Racing insiders. He became interested in the sport after meeting the racing club’s founder, the late Richard Yates. Subsequently, Freeman became so immersed in racing that he first became an owner with friends before ultimately earning his trainer’s licence.

He said: “The racing club is a perfect way for people to get their feet wet without the bills you would normally get owning a horse outright. It gives people a taste of it and then, once they become familiar with it and see how the inner workings go, they’re really excited about jumping into more of a regular ownership.”

Freeman’s fellow manager Matt Elder agreed.

“It’s an excellent no-risk way to test the waters of thoroughbred ownership,” he said. “With the experience and social network that comes with being a Hastings Racing Club participant, many of our members have used this as a springboard to own bigger shares of horses of their own.”

Both practice what they preach. In addition to their duties as racing club managers at Hastings this weekend, Freeman also hopes to saddle Matsqui, a five-year-old mare he trained to win the valuable Monashee Handicap last season and who is also part-owned by Elder and several other friends, all of whom met through Hastings Racing Club.

Hastings race selections: First race Saturday, 2:30 p.m.

Hastings Race 2: Trainer Dino Condilenios hit the board with all three of his opening day runners and THIRSTY FRIEND could hold a fitness advantage over his rivals following a solid winter campaign in California and Arizona.

Hastings Race 3: BAKBURNER has dropped slightly in class to make his debut for the Hastings Racing Club. He’s been working well in the mornings, represents a traditionally fast-starting barn and looks the one to beat.