Hastings Racecourse


Hastings Racecourse is a horse racing facility at Hastings Park, four miles from downtown Vancouver. Originally called East Park, it opened for business in 1889, making it Vancouver's longest continuously used professional sports facility. The racing operation is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation which acquired the lease of the city-owned track in 2004.

History

The track was originally known as Exhibition Park Race Track but has always been referred to by the public and the media as Exhibition Park. July 1, 1939, marked the first time thoroughbred racing used an electric starting gate, the invention of Texan Clay Puett.
On the first Monday in August, a public holiday, the track hosts BC Cup Day that features a series of six races for top thoroughbreds in various classes. In September, the two most important races for three-year-olds in British Columbia, the British Columbia Oaks and the British Columbia Derby, are run at Hastings Racecourse.
On May 18, 2011 it was reported that the course could close at the end of its 2012 lease due to low profits from wagering revenue and slots as well as difficulty reaching an agreeable new lease with the city. A decision by Great Canadian had to be made by October 31 of that year. The result of those negotiations was that the track remain open and running.
In 2012, Hastings Racecourse made international headlines when little-known Mexican-born jockey Mario Gutierrez, won the Santa Anita Derby, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes aboard I'll Have Another.

Graded events

The following Graded events were held at Hastings Racecourse in 2019.
Grade III