They may not have the star power of a Stakes winner, but Hastings\u2019 blue-collar claimers are the real lifeblood of the track<\/p>\n
Published Sep 25, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 3 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n It may be a contest for horses who haven\u2019t managed to win this year, or have won no more than four times during their entire careers, but Saturday\u2019s third race at Hastings is as important to the success of the track as any number of glamorous Stakes events.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events.Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account.The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events.Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account.The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account<\/p>\n or<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Only two of the six horses entered for the mile-and-sixteenth contest have managed to win this season although, between them, they\u2019ve competed in 48 races, adding much-needed depth to assembled fields and, in turn, helping to boost betting turnover \u2014 the lifeblood of the sport.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Lower-level claiming contests are the bedrock of racing in most jurisdictions and the blue-collar horses who contest these types of events are venerated by those responsible for their welfare.<\/p>\n \u201cThe lower-level races are our meat and potatoes,\u201d trainer Steve Henson said this week. \u201cThey help to keep the show on the road. Without them we\u2019d be sunk.\u201d<\/p>\n Henson, who saddled the B.C. Derby winner just two weeks ago, has entered There Goes My Hero and Time Ticker in Saturday\u2019s \u201cnon-winners on the year.\u201d He will also tighten the girth on Quagmire, who makes his 58th career start at the weekend in a similarly low-level affair where each of the eight horses entered will run with a claiming tag of between $3,500 and $5,000.<\/p>\n Canucks Report<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Veteran trainer Harold Barroby agrees that lower-level races are essential, both for the track and for connections of the horses. \u201cRaces such as the one this weekend for horses who haven\u2019t won yet this season are very important,\u201d he explained. \u201cNot just for the horses, but for the trainers and the owners, as well. They\u2019re not bad horses, they just haven\u2019t been able to win yet for any number of reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n Somthing Elusive\u00a0 is one such horse. Known as Eli to his friends, the six-year-old gelding has been placed four times this year without winning and will make his 35th career start on Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a horse who needs everything to go right for him on the day and for one reason or another that hasn\u2019t happened this year. He\u2019s been close a couple of times but so far hasn\u2019t managed to get his head in front,\u201d said Eli\u2019s part owner and dedicated carer, Bruce Conley.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n More widely, Conley believes lower-level races more than punch their weight when it comes to entertaining the fans and helping to generate much needed betting turnover, or handle.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cThese types of races aren\u2019t just important for the horses and their connections, but they are often more competitive contests than some of the more valuable races, which means they are great betting races for the fans. They often attract good-sized fields, with horses dropping down in class to participate and the horses aren\u2019t as consistent as the higher claimers and allowance-class horses. Eli\u2019s last race saw a long shot finish in first and second.\u201d<\/p>\n Conley is right. Bettors wagered more than $21 million on racing at Hastings in 2024, with a substantial part of that turnover coming from races at the lower end of the class ladder. Four of Saturday\u2019s six heats are claiming contests for runners valued between $3,500 and $7,500 and they will also provide connections of 26 of the day\u2019s 38 entered horses with an opportunity to race.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Equally importantly, those four races will generate the lion\u2019s share of the day\u2019s betting turnover. That means, when the blue-blooded stars return to the track next weekend for two more valuable Stakes contests, they will be racing for purses provided in large part by their less talented barn-mates. So much for trickle-down economics.<\/p>\n Hastings Selections:<\/p>\n Saturday, Sept. 27. First race: 2:30 .m.<\/p>\n Race 3. Our Bloke has already won twice this season and lines up here on the back of an Emerald Downs victory in a similar contest.<\/p>\n Race 4. Pickledagain, who has the added benefit of leading rider Amadeo Perez in the saddle, drops in class and should be more at home in this company.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links SportsSports Betting They may not have the star power of a Stakes winner, but Hastings\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160088,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[3004,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-160087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-racing","tag-racing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"hastings](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/hastingsimage_298931845.jpg\")
Somthing Elusive, ridden here by Kerron Khelawan, is still looking for his first win of the season at Hastings Racecourse. Michael Bye photo Photo by Michael ByeArticle content<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/19.6.0\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-vp.svg\"){kind=logo}
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