Posted by: admin on Sunday, October 05, 2008 - 10:02 AM
Oregon Racing
In an story coinciding with Opening Day at Portland Meadows, The Vancouver WA Columbian profiles veteran trainer (and Vancouver resident) Jim Fergason:
Fergason-trained horses posted the most wins at Portland Meadows for five years running until the 2007-08 meet, when Jonathan Nance set a single-season record for wins with 80. The previous season, Fergason established a track record with 78 wins in a meet.
“I attribute (the success) to having good owners with a lot of confidence in how I run my horses,” Fergason said.
Shares of Magna Entertainment Corp. plummeted by more than 50% on heavier than average volume Sept. 30, prompting more concern for the owner of the site of next month’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
Posted by: admin on Monday, September 29, 2008 - 02:09 PM
Oregon Racing
Portland Meadows announcer Jason Beem will be a guest on "The Morning Sports Page" with Gavin Dawson this Wednesday October 1 at 7:45am. This show is part of the morning lineup on 95.5 The Game FM in Portland.
You can also listen live online at: www.955thegame.com
under the "listen live" section.
Horse Racing 101 this year at Portland Meadows, class starts October 26th
Portland Meadows is going back to school, the school of ‘winning at the track’. Starting on October 26th, Portland Meadows will begin hosting a free course – Horse Racing 101 – that will aim to educate people interested in learning about horse racing and on selecting winners and betting in general.
Horse Racing 101 will cover three sessions and class will be held the last Sunday of October, November, and December at Portland Meadows. The course will focus on working with beginner and novice players to provide baseline knowledge of the sport and on providing superior handicapping skills. Handicapping is an age old industry term used for the process of deciphering all the intangibles to pick a horse. Each class will; cover new material and including: instruction on terminology; how to read past performance information from the official racing program; how to properly call a bet and using a self serve betting terminal; and how to separate the contenders of a race from the pretenders.
The course will be conducted in the Portland Meadows Turf Club at 10:30 AM on October 26th, November 30th, and December 28th. The final of the three classes will also include a commencement period for all successful graduates. Upon successful completion of the course, students of Horse Racing 101 will receive a diploma and a $20 betting voucher to get started winning.
Students enrolled in Horse Racing 101 will receive a complimentary continental breakfast including coffee and a free copy of that day’s racing program should they choose to stick around as live racing begins at 12:35 PM.
Portland Meadows track announcer Jason Beem will host the interactive classes and will be joined at each class by a special guest. Beem has been at Portland Meadows for three years as track announcer, and has also called the past three summers at River Downs in Cincinnati, Ohio. “I really want to try and help some new fans get into our great game,” Beem said. “Betting can be confusing for beginners, and hopefully we can help them get comfortable with wagering, and maybe even put them onto some winners.”
For more information on Horse Racing 101 or any information about Portland Meadows please visit www.portlandmeadows.com. To reserve your spot in the Horse Racing 101 class, please contact Jason Beem at: Jason.Beem@portlandmeadows.com or 503-849-2253 as space will be limited.
Portland Meadows to honor longtime Daily Racing Form writer Dennis Dodge
Portland, OR—Portland Meadows has renamed the Columbia River Stakes the Dennis Dodge Memorial Stakes. Dodge worked for the Daily Racing Form for over 32 years and was the longtime columnist and handicapper for Northwest tracks such as Portland Meadows, Longacres, and Emerald Downs. Dodge passed away on September 9th, 2008 due to apparent heart failure, he was 62.
The Dennis Dodge Memorial Stakes will take place on Sunday November 16th, 2008. It is a stakes race for 2 year olds and is run at the 6 furlong distance. The Dennis Dodge Memorial Stakes will offer a purse of $18,000. “When we were talking about naming a race in Dennis’ honor, we thought a 2 year old race would be a very fitting tribute to Dennis,” said Jason Beem, Portland Meadows’ track announcer and Guest Services Manager. “I have talked with Dennis on many occasions and knew his love of 2 year old races, dissecting the pedigrees as well as going to the paddock to look at them in the flesh.”
The Dennis Dodge Memorial Stakes was slated for November 17th, but has been moved up a day to Sunday November 16th and will be the co-feature on the card with the $18,000 Lassie Stakes for 2 year old fillies.
Live racing at Portland Meadows starts on October 5th and runs Sunday, Monday, and Tuesdays with first post at 12:35pm.
Posted by: admin on Sunday, September 21, 2008 - 01:44 PM
Miscellaneous
Former Portland Meadows runner Blue Sky Holiday won the British Columbia Breeders' Cup Oaks (Can-III) in Vancouver. Click here to read the BloodHorse article.
Posted by: admin on Saturday, September 20, 2008 - 02:06 PM
Miscellaneous
Here's Jettin to Court, whose days jettin' around the track are behind him, and 4-H days are ahead. Jet broke his maiden at Portland Meadows but couldn't handle the turns on the fairgrounds circuit, so he was moved into a new career and re-homed. He was on the racetrack just 10 weeks before the picture was taken. His pleasant demeanor with children made him a natural for a young rider. "Up" in this photo is his new owner, Hayden.
Another great example of how easily our racehorses can adapt to new jobs when necessary. Best Wishes to new owner Hayden.
