Following his Kentucky Derby and Preakness victories on Ill Have Another, Mario Gutierrez has an entire nation waiting anxiously as he pursues the dream of becoming the first Triple Crown champion in 34 years.
Headlines all week have heralded Marios ride in the Belmont Stakes on June 9 as real-life fairy tale, suggesting he will have Canadas sports spotlight all to himself.
On both Kentucky Derby Day (May 5) and Preakness Day (May 19), crowds of 8,000-10,000 were at Hastings Racecourse wildly cheering for Mario as they watched on a 40-foot jumbo screen in the infield as well as hundreds of television screens throughout the grounds.
We expect the largest turnout at our Hastings site in over 20 years to be with us for the Belmont, says Raj Mutti, regional general manager, BC Racing. We will be starting our live racing card at 12:50 p.m. on June 9 to accommodate the anticipated huge crowd.
Mutti has been in a buoyant mood with the live on-track wagering handle at Hastings this year up 24 per cent over last season.
He says his Hastings management team will have secured more staff in all departments for Belmont Day, including the addition of food and beverage vendors. Advance wagering for the Belmont will be made available at Hastings on Friday, June 8, actual times to be announced.
The long-awaited Belmont Stakes goes at approximately 3:35 p.m. PDT on Saturday, June 9.
Mario Gutierrez is back riding at Hollywood Park this weekend with six mounts Saturday and two Sunday.
Good news hot off the press: The special edition of GO MARIO GO t-shirts that proved to be in such demand during Preakness Day are available at Hastings Racecourse while supplies last. At $20, they will be going quickly!.
Regular racing resumes: A couple of solid eight-race cards are set for Hastings Racecourse this weekend (1:50 p.m. start times). Notably absent from the Saturday/Sunday action will be popular jockey Richard Hamel, the leading rider at Hastings in 2011 and 2010. Hamel, from Terrace, B.C., advised his agent Gordon Rumble that he would be taking the season off to recover from recurring knee problems.
Saturdays feature is an optional $35,000 claiming race for fillies and mares with the favourite expected to be Barb Heads-trained Tierra Del Feugo, one of the top 3-year-olds on the grounds last season.
Sundays card features an allowance optional claimer for 3-year-old fillies, a field of nine with a purse of $22,425.
Heading into the weekend the High 5 Carryover is $2,501 and the Pick 5 Carryover is $4,575.
Friday night live: The popular Friday night live racing begins on June 1 with a 7 p.m. start.
