A Day at the Races

Vancouver staged its first thoroughbred race in 1889. Horses charged down the middle of what is now Howe Street as spectators watched from a makeshift grandstand in front of the Vancouver Hotel. A horse called Mayflower won the featured race and $250.

That same year, the B.C. Jockey Club carved Hastings Racecourse, or Hastings Park as it was then known, out of a forest in East Vancouver. Encompassing 15 acres, the track was 19 feet higher at one end than the other, the infield a mass of The thrill of the race today (Courtesy of Hastings Racecourse)charred stumps and enormous boulders. Despite initial hardships, the decision to build a track in this up-and-coming area was a wise one. Nearby was the luxurious Brighton Hotel, built in 1868 on the shore of Burrard Inlet in what is now New Brighton Park. The hotel-turned-resort catered to workers, settlers and colonial officials from Victoria, New Westminster, Moodyville (now North Vancouver) and Gastown.

With the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the founding of Vancouver in 1885 and the construction of Hastings Racecourse in 1889, the area became the province’s top vacation spot. A typical vacationer’s day would involve a trip to the races, a swim in Burrard Inlet and a sightseeing carriage ride along the waterfront. The Brighton Hotel burned down in 1905, but the track continued to attract visitors. In 1910, the Vancouver Exhibition Association held its first fair on the adjoining land at the corner of Hastings and Renfrew. Horse racing kicked off the event following an address from Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier.

Two other tracks were constructed on the Fraser River Delta—the Brighouse in 1909 and Lansdown Park in 1924. Brighouse closed in 1942, Lansdowne in 1945. Hastings Racecourse remains the only survivor from the maiden days of horse racing on the Lower Mainland.

Finish-line excitement at this year’s BC Cup Day at Hastings Racecourse (Belinda Bruce)

In 1961, two leaders in the racing field—William Randall and Jack Diamond—joined forces under the banner of the BC Jockey Club and decided to hold all races at Hastings. They operated the site for 35 years as Exhibition Park. Success saw the construction of a new grandstand and a renovated racing surface in 1965, lights for night racing in 1968 and a further grandstand expansion in 1976.

In 1993 the NDP government did not renew the B.C. Jockey Club’s lease and introduced a new racing act to create the Pacific Racing Association as a crown corporation. It would later be changed to a not-for-profit society. However, the PRA’s cash shortages put the racetrack in jeopardy until Woodbine Entertainment Group took over operations in 2002.

Hastings Park at the beginning of the twentieth
century (Courtesy of Hastings Racecourse)By 2004 Hastings Racecourse’s future was once again in question. Attendance was down and the track was losing money. In the spring Great Canadian Gaming Corporation purchased the track from Woodbine Entertainment.

The improvements Great Canadian has implemented in the last two years have brought Hastings Racecourse back to its former glory. Diners can enjoy the glassed-in Silks Restaurant, parents can supervise their children in a playground atmosphere in the Kids Zone, and race enthusiasts have the option of a unique Marquee Tent at track level and several full-facility lounges including Jerome’s and The Diamond Room. The licensed rooftop SkyBox is available for private groups of 20-25 guests, where an expert member of Hastings Racecourse operates and explains the mutuels process.

Jockey salutes the crowd
(Courtesy of Hastings Racecourse)After a two-year hiatus, Hastings has brought back Friday Night at the Races. A hit with a younger crowd, the night features comical footraces, 50/50 draws and some of B.C.’s most popular bands and entertainers performing on a specially-built entertainment stage near the Paddock Area of the track.

With the dramatic snow-covered North Shore mountains as a backdrop and the Pacific National Exhibition still a short jaunt away, Hastings Racecourse remains one of the most attractive racetrack settings in North America. And with betting as low as $2 a ticket, a day at the races is still as viable and thrilling an event as it was 117 years ago.