Report: Loan to Keep Hastings Racing Through August

Horse racing at Hastings Racecourse will continue through the end of August after owner/trainer Glen Todd extended the Vancouver track an interest-free million-dollar loan to fund purse money, according to a July 26 report from the Vancouver Sun. The loan is meant to keep racing ongoing as the track tries to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hastings, which typically runs from late April and through most of October, opened May 3 this year and had 25 race dates planned through Aug. 2, with dates from Aug. 3-Oct. 25 waiting to be confirmed. 

"People were getting desperate, we were going to have to lay all these people off, and they had nowhere to go with their horses," Todd told the Sun. 

"It's a million dollars to get another month of racing at Hastings, hopefully with casinos open now wagering will increase and we can get back to some sense of normalcy." 

The loan will allow Hastings to conduct seven additional days of racing, David Milburn, president of the British Columbia Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, told the Sun. He added that the local industry has not received government grants or funding and there are concerns of horses leaving for Seattle or Alberta, where Emerald Downs and Century Mile are located, respectively, and meets continue through the end of September and October.

Hastings is currently operating at 50% capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions.