Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/112499
landmarks Down the Home Stretch? North America���s thoroughbred racetracks are fast disappearing. But one of the last survivors is a picturesque dirt oval established in 1892 that is the longest continuously used professional sports site in Vancouver. >> In its heyday Hastings Racecourse was a place to be seen, drawing Hollywood celebrities with such elite jockeys as Bill Shoemaker and Johnny Longden, who won his 6,000th race at Hastings in 1965. Though the track faced ���nancial struggles in recent years, it then experienced another surge in popularity in 2012 ��� when jockey Mario Gutierrez, who began his career here, made headlines worldwide by capturing the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes aboard Canadian-owned I���ll Have Another. When Gutierrez returned home to ride in two more races on July 1, he received a hero���s welcome. >> Meanwhile, the signing of a new operating lease has extended the track���s stay at the Paci���c National Exhibition grounds until 2014. So for another two years, at least, Vancouver crowds can thrill to the mad clatter of coloured silks, boots and thundering hooves. ��� hastingspark.com A Friday night at the track: bcaa.com/track *In the lead at Hastings Park 46 W E S T W O R L D >> FA L L 2 0 1 2 (Hastings Park) John Lehmann/Canadian Press