Celebration of Mario's Kentucky Derby win had fans buzzing at Hastings Sunday

VANCOUVER, May 7, 2012 /CNW/ - Mario Gutierrez remained first and foremost on the minds of pretty well everyone at Hastings Racecourse Sunday afternoon in the celebration of his stunning Kentucky Derby win Saturday at Churchill Downs.

No matter where anyone wandered throughout the grounds Sunday, the conversation inevitably turned to the 25-year-old jockey who pushed thoroughbred racing onto the front pages of newspapers and lead items on national television newscasts throughout North America.

Gutierrez, who honed his riding skills at Hastings, captured the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby with a stirring upset victory aboard I¹ll Have Another, owned by Canadian Paul Reddam of Windsor, Ontario.

Gutierrez became the first jockey to win from outside post 19 and what made the victory even sweeter was the fact I¹ll Have Another was a 15-1 longshot and beat the favoured Bodemeister by 1 1/2 lengths. I'll Have Another returned $32.60, $13.80 and $9.00.

A Hastings Racecourse a crowd estimated at more than 8,000 watched in awe on a 40-foot screen and hundreds of television sets at every level of the track as their hometown hero took the first step in winning the Triple Crown, the first since the great 3-year-old Affirmed in 1978.

The second jewel of the Triple Crown is the Preakness Stakes on May 19 followed by the Belmont Stakes on June 9.  Already Hastings General Manager Raj Mutti is making plans for bigger and more extravagant local coverage of the Preakness at Hastings Racecourse. There could even be a "Super Mario Bobble Head Doll" in the near future.

With literally hundreds of media requests for his time, Gutierrez didn¹t get to bed until 2:30 a.m. following his Derby win.  "I am not complaining," he says. "It gives me the opportunity to thank my friends and fans in Vancouver and mention Hastings Racecourse every chance I get."

The man who is given credit for taking Mario under his wing is multi-horse owner Glen Todd, who along with veteran trainer Troy Taylor have tutored Gutierrez through his career at Hastings. They were also responsible for Mario's introduction to the Santa Anita racing fraternity, resulting in his riding I'll Have Another.

Todd, his ownership partner Patrick Kinsella and Taylor, the iconic 80-year-old trainer, were in a state of shock when "their boy" scored the biggest victory of his career in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday.

Almost lost in all of the excitement generated by Gutierrez Saturday was the fact a couple of major stakes races went into the Hastings record book on the weekend.  Taylor Said (Fernando Perez) came from off the pace Sunday to win the $50,000 John Longden 6000 while Clear the Runway (Pedro Alvarado) won Saturday's $50,000 Jim Coleman Province.

Racing resumes at Hastings next Saturday and Sunday with 1:50 p.m. start times.

Howard Blank, Vice President Communications, Entertainment and Responsible Gaming, Great Canadian Gaming Corporation. 604.303.1000