Larry Hastings has been a fan of the trotters and pacers for as far back as he can remember, but it was only 10 years ago that he made the jump to owner and then trainer.
The 55-year-old conditioner has come down from his native Canada for the first time with eight performers -- all of whom he owns himself -- and has enjoyed the stay so much that he plans to stick around and make California his home base.
“Going from a fan to an owner all started one day when I was sitting with a friend at simulcasting,” Hastings related. “He said we should buy a horse. As fate would have it, shortly after that I was on a plane and who should sit right down next to me, but the racing secretary, who I had known back in school. He introduced us to a trainer and we bought a horse.”
That first pacer ended up going to the sidelines, and during that period Hastings learned the sport from the ground up.
“By the time he came back to the races, I had a training license, and it was probably two years later that I gave up the insurance business and devoted all my time to the horses.”
When asked about his favorite trainee, Hastings is quick to point out the nine-year-old Dugout Andee, who has won 14 of his 86 starts, including two of his last five over Cal-Expo while closing in on the $100,000 earnings plateau.
“I’ve had him all his career and he’s really the horse who put me on the map up there,” Hastings explained. “He also gave me the freedom to expand the stable and one of the reasons I’ve come to Cal-Expo.”
And some of the other reasons?
“There are long breaks up in Alberta, the weather is awfully cold and I’d heard nothing but good things about this track,” he answered. “All the people have been great since I’ve been here, and I haven’t seen one day below zero,” finished a laughing Hastings.
(Cal-Expo)