Hasting Inspector Charged with Taking Bribes

A racetrack and gaming inspector for the province of British Columbia is due in a Vancouver court May 26 to answer to 36 breach-of-trust and bribery charges that allege he took money from Hastings-based trainers in exchange for supplying fake racing licenses so Mexican nationals without work permits could be employed as grooms.

Canada's CBC News first broke the story Tuesday, citing information contained in a search warrant involving Darren Scott Young. The investigation dates to 2018, and was fleshed out after sources came forward to the government when immigration officials raided the Hastings backstretch in August 2019.

According to the CBC report, Young-who has been employed by the province's Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch since 2005 and previously worked as a security guard at Hastings-is accused of “falsifying information on registration and licensing documents and substituting names and photos of illegal workers onto existing horse racing licenses.”

Young's other alleged method of operation involved registering Mexicans who were in British Columbia on tourist visas as Thoroughbred owners, a capacity that does not require the submittal of a work permit. Then he purportedly went back into the online system after the license was issued to change the occupation to groom, thus getting around the requirement to produce a work permit at the time of licensure.

“It is common knowledge at the Hastings Racecourse that the horse trainers pay Young unknown sums of money to facilitate the fraudulent issuance of horse racing licenses to foreign nationals,” one unnamed source is quoted in the court documents obtained by CBC. “Young has been getting kickbacks from trainers for a long time for getting people horse racing licenses.”

CBC reported that a different source-an unnamed trainer-told investigators that Young tried to cover his alleged falsifications by telling people on the backstretch he was simply acting as a middleman who took foreign workers to a lawyer's office for the completion of legal immigration paperwork.

Young reportedly charged trainers $725 in Canadian funds for this service-claiming that $695 was the attorney's fee and $30 was for the racing license. The illegal licensees then had to pay back the trainers out of their earnings as grooms, the CBC reported.

According to the search warrant, an investigator asked the unnamed trainer if she thought it was “suspicious” that Young wanted the checks made out to “cash” and not the name of an attorney.

“I wondered about that too,” the trainer said. “I did kind of think that was a little odd, but he said it was just easier to do it that way.”

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Grade I-Producing Sire Value Plus Pensioned

Canadian-based stallion Value Plus (Unbridled's Song–Roll Over Baby, by Rollin On Over), sire of Grade I winner and sire Long On Value, has been pensioned from stud duty due to failing health. Recruited from the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale by Steen and Cathy Reggelsen to stand at their Stride Away Thoroughbred operation in British Columbia, the 21-year-old stallion has sired the winners of over 200 races to date.

“Value Plus has been a true friend to us and it was only right to be a friend to him and do what's in his best interests,”

Cathy Reggelsen said. “We're sad, of course, but he owes us nothing and he will spend the rest of his days here with us. He's part of the family.”

Winner of the Artax H., the grey was also runner up in the GI Florida Derby and GI Futurity S. before retiring with $410,000 in earnings. Value Plus's 200+ winners include GI Highlander S. winner Long on Value and dual Grade I-placed All Due Respect. He is also responsible for stakes-placed Saturday Value and Spot On Dude.

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Canadian Champion Here’s Hannah Retired, To Be Bred To Blame

Here's Hannah, Canada's champion older female of 2019, has been retired from racing, and she will visit champion Blame for the 2022 breeding season.

In a release from owner B C Stables, it was revealed that the 7-year-old Numaany mare would be pointed toward a breeding stock sale after being bred.

Here's Hannah retired with 15 wins in 21 starts, and earnings of $446,198, racing as a British Columbia homebred for B C Stables. All but her final two starts came at Hastings Racecourse.

She won 11 of her first 12 career starts, including 10 stakes scores. Her Sovereign Award-winning season was highlighted by a triumph in Grade 3 Ballerina Stakes at Hastings, along with victories in the Vancouver Sun Stakes, Strawberry Morn Handicap, Monashee Handicap, and the British Columbia Distaff Handicap.

In addition to her national honors, Here's Hannah was named British Columbia's Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old filly in 2018, and the province's champion older female in 2019 and 2020.

Here's Hannah is out of the unraced A Fleets Dancer mare Dreams Start Here.

Blame, a 16-year-old son of Arch, stands at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky., for an advertised fee of $20,000.

His nine crops of racing age include 325 winners and combined progeny earnings of more than $37.1 million. His 19 graded stakes winners include Grade 1 winners Marley's Freedom, Nadal, Fault, and Abscond, as well as French Group 1 winner Senga.

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Tapiture Colt Tops CTHS British Columbia Summer Mixed Sale

A Tapiture colt led across-the-board gains during the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (British Columbia Division) Summer Mixed Sale on Sept. 14 at the Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, B.C.

A total of 83 horses changed hands during Tuesday's auction for revenues of $1,191,000 (Canadian), marking a 86 percent increase from last year's sale, when 74 horses brought $639,600. The average sale price rose 21 percent to $15,880 from $13,053, the median rose 8 percent to $13,000 from $12,000, and the buyback rate finished at 9.6 percent compared with 26.5 percent in 2020.

Gary Johnson bought the sale-topper, Hip 22, a Tapiture colt, for $49,000.

The gray or roan colt is out of the winning Monarchos mare Silver Splendor, who is the dam of one winner from two foals to race. Bred in Kentucky by Zoelle Racing, the colt was initially purchased as a short yearling by Glen Todd's North American Horse Co. for $7,500 at this year's Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, and he was consigned at the CTHS British Columbia sale by the same operation.

North American Thoroughbred Horse Co. was the auction's leading consignor, with three horses selling for a combined $106,000. The partnership of James Redekop and Tod Mtn. Thoroughbreds was the leading buyer, with six purchases totaling $156,000.

To view the auction's full results, click here.

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