Hastings' Snappers in the Frame
Hastings' Snappers in the Frame
Photographers Lisa Thompson and Allan de la Plante both receive Sovereign Award nominations, while Hastings track reopens for training following a snowy cold snap
THE Jockey Club of Canada is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2022 Media Sovereign Awards categories. Judging for the Media Awards is performed by media professionals within the industry selected from across North America.
Listed in alphabetical order, the Media finalists are:
Digital Audio/Visual and Broadcast Category
Peter Gross – Down the Stretch Podcast 146
Horse Racing Alberta – The Canadian Derby Feature – Above and Beyond
Woodbine Entertainment Group – The Queen’s Plate
Photograph Category
Allan de la Plante – The Catch
Lisa Thompson – Belcarra Park
Julie Wright – On Cloud Nine
Writing Category
Ivan Bigg – Brandon Greer’s Quiet Success
Dave Briggs – Why Can’t Horse Racing Partake in Ontario’s Sports Betting Boom
Ron Gierkink – Queen’s Plate Feature Sunday Aug. 7
Chris Lomon – Mike Keogh: Canada’s Gentleman Horseman Calls it a Career
George Williams – Derby Winner has a Manitoba Mother
The winner in each of the three Media Awards categories will be announced, along with the other Sovereign Awards winners and Canada’s Horse of the Year during the 48th annual Sovereign Awards ceremony on the evening of Thursday, April 13, 2023 at Universal Eventspace in Vaughan, Ontario.
The Jockey Club of Canada is also pleased to announce that Dale Saunders will be presented with the E. P. Taylor Award of Merit during the 48th Annual Sovereign Awards ceremony on the evening of Thursday, April 13, 2023 in Vaughan, Ontario. Selected unanimously by the Jockey Club of Canada’s Stewards, the E. P. Taylor Award is a lifetime achievement award honouring those who have made significant contributions to the Thoroughbred Industry in Canada and accomplished outstanding individual achievements in Canadian thoroughbred racing and breeding.
Dale Saunders has been dedicated to the sport of thoroughbred racing for over 50 years. With 2,177 wins from 12,915 starts and $17.4 million in earnings, “Colonel” Saunders has achieved as much as any other trainer in Alberta. His passion for thoroughbred racing was bred into him, with his father and his cousins all keen horsemen and avid thoroughbred breeders and owners. Dale has won countless stakes races and was Alberta Trainer of the Year in 1983, 1985, 1987 – 1989, 1996 – 1999 and 2013. He was also honoured in 2012 as the Horseperson of the Year at the Alberta Thoroughbred Awards.
The Jockey Club of Canada is proud to present Amber Hutchinson and Ricardo Nicholson with the 2022 Outstanding Groom Award sponsored by OLG. Both Amber and Ricardo are spoken of very highly by their nominators, trainers Mike Doyle and Ian Black, respectively.
This year marks Amber’s 16th season with Mike Doyle who describes her as dependable, diligent, cheerful, unfailingly kind, and having earned the respect of her coworkers.
Ian Black began his training career 19 years ago, and Ricardo has been with him the entire time. Known for his race day outfits which are catered to match each owners’ silks and the saddlecloth colour, “Ricky” has groomed such horses as multiple graded stakes winners Seductively and Southdale.
TBC Recruits Racing Consultant
President of Bluslate Inc. and former Chief Operating Officer at Woodbine Entertainment, Sean Pinsonneault has been retained as a consultant by the TBC Teletheatre Board of Directors to analyze and identify opportunities to increase wagering handle in British Columbia, as well as the live racing products at Hastings Racecourse and Fraser Downs.
Bluslate Inc. was founded by Sean Pinsonneault in 2017 to focus on improving revenues for the long-term prosperity of the horse racing industry.
“We are excited to have Sean on board to enhance our ongoing mandate to increase exposure to horse racing at Hastings Racecourse and Fraser Downs,” said Matthew Ruhlman, BC Racebook Chief Operating Officer. “His background speaks for itself.”
Dave Milburn, President of The Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association of BC (HBPA-BC), added: “This is an excellent initiative on the part of TBC. We hope Sean’s involvement will take us to a new level. He’ll penetrate markets that haven’t been available to us.”
With more than 30 years of leadership experience in racetrack management and technology focussing on bringing new innovations to the market, Pinsonneault contributed in no small way to the well-documented success story at Assiniboia Downs over the past few years.
“I’m certainly not here to take all the credit,” Pinsonneault said from his office in Oakville, Ontario. “It was a case of a great team working together at a time when we had to start with a whole new slate with the arrival of the COVID pandemic.”
Without spectators allowed on the grounds at Assiniboia Downs, CEO Darren Dunn in concert with Pinsonneault introduced Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night racing along with other player-focused initiatives that resulted in huge increases in Assiniboia’s wagering and nationwide attention.
The new format avoided head-on weekend internet wagering competition with U.S.-based tracks such as Santa Anita, Gulfstream, Woodbine, Churchill Downs and Belmont Park.
Assiniboia Downs made international racing headlines when a record one-day handle of $3,523,260 was bet on its eight-race August 1, 2022 holiday Monday card on ‘Manitoba Derby Day’.
“We were fortunate to be a part of Assiniboia’s remarkable growth,” Pinsonneault says. “Their daily handle on live racing increased from approximately $250,000 per day to over $1.1million per day. The success has been a result of many factors. The staff was eager to do whatever it took to make the business work. I’m confident that same attitude will apply at Hastings Racecourse.”
Pinsonneault’s introduction to the racing industry was in 1988, maintaining tote equipment at Hiawatha Horse Park, a small track in his home town of Sarnia, Ontario. He began a 16-year career at Woodbine as Director of Pari-Mutuel Operations and rose through the executive ranks to Chief Operating Officer.
His 30 years of experience in racetrack management and technology have included titles as Chairman & President of Racetrack of Canada, Secretary Director for the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau and Director for the Ontario Standardbred Alliance.
Synergy Passes
SYNERGY, a magnificent stalwart for the Barbara Heads barn over the past four seasons, was saved further suffering earlier this week following complications resulting from a paddock accident.
”RJ” and Lois Bennett’s redoubtable chestnut homebred will be much missed by racefans and the backstretch family alike. The six-year-old son of Sungold was a top-notch juvenile, winning the Jack Diamond Futurity and the Ascot Graduation back in 2019, before bagging the Chris Loseth and the BC Cup Sir Winston Churchill Stakes in his sophomore campaign — a year in which he also finished fourth in the Canadian Derby.
Synergy’s final race last year saw him land his seventh victory of a 16-race career in which he never finished out of the first four.
Speaking at Hastings, his trainer Barbara Heads admitted that few horses have made such an immediate impact on her.
“He was just special. I think he must have been a racehorse as well in a previous life because the moment he first stepped onto the training track he knew exactly what to do. He was such a natural and so easy to train that he made me look good.”
Our condolences to everyone connected with Synergy.
Don’t Forget to Book Your Tickets!
Training Resumes After Cold Snap
The Hastings track reopened this week after an icy sting in winter’s tale forced the racing office to suspend training for a few days. To help make up the shortfall, trainers should note that the track will open this Monday, March 6, 7am-11am (break at 9am).
New Stride Thoroughbred Adoption Society
