Thursday Thoughts with Jason Beem for Dec. 11, 2025

A good Thursday morning to you all! I talked a fair bit about Hastings closing on my Tuesday podcast, but wanted to share a few more thoughts and memories of the Vancouver track. I conservatively guess that I went to Hastings probably 20 times over the course of my life. It’s only a 2 1/2-hour drive from the Seattle area and I learned quickly to always take the border crossing east of Interstate 5, otherwise it would be more like 3 1/2 hours. 

Hastings sits just off Vancouver Harbour and has some pretty incredible mountain views from the apron. During the summer they would often have food trucks out front and the crowds and vibes were always very fun. I don’t remember ever going there on a weekend when there wasn’t a really nice crowd. Part of that was because it was in the city. Several old tracks in the US are still within the city limits but in the last few decades, new tracks were usually built in the burbs or a more rural area. Hastings had been racing on that spot for 130 years and it’s just a straight shot down E. Hastings Street to get to downtown Vancouver. 

My first visits were with my dad and back then it was called Exhibition Park. I have very vague memories of those trips and the thing I remember most was the big crowds. I had Drew Forster on the show the other day and we talked about the “bull-ring” nature of the track, as it was a five-furlong oval. I think as someone who grew up around a mile track, I always thought a little less of bull-ring racing. I carried that bias into watching harness as well and always seemed to like the mile ovals even in that discipline. It’s funny the little biases we get about things. We didn’t have turf racing at all in the Pacific Northwest so when I first got to see turf racing, I was so excited by it. It was new and fresh and different. 

I got to call one race at Hastings and it was a four-horse field. The thing I remember about the call was mentioning that jockey Mario Dunn was making an early move on the first turn. The only problem was her name was Marlo Dunn. Sorry Marlo, I always felt bad about that. The booth at Hastings, where announcer Dan Jukich called the last 3 1/2 decades, is outdoors. I can’t really think of any other announcer’s booths that are outside. Also Dan had an unusual On/Off switch for his microphone. It was a button on the ground that he tapped with his foot. That’s also something I’ve never seen. But it made for a fun spot to call just cause of the crowd noise. I’m sure at the end of the meet, it wasn’t quite so fun in the rain and chilly weather. 

There have been many great horsepeople who came through Hastings. Mario Gutierrez probably jumps to the top of the list for his two Kentucky Derby (G1) wins and the great career he built in California. Mario dominated Hastings for a few years under the watchful eye of owner Glen Todd. It felt like when Glen passed away a few years ago Hastings lost one of its biggest cornerstones. Unfortunately it wasn’t able to rally back. 

To me one of the real sad parts of this is that the people of Vancouver and Hastings won’t get to have a goodbye or farewell day or season at the races. It’s just gone. Which makes a sad situation even sadder. Maybe it doesn’t matter, but having been to a few “closing days” over the years, I do think they make for strong final memories. But we don’t always get what we want. My thoughts to all my Vancouver friends and those who enjoyed racing at Hastings over the decades.