Two well-stocked thoroughbred stables have moved to Alberta from British Columbia.

Trainer Rob Van Overschot who has won 559 races - 21 of them stakes for purse earnings of $7.2 million - has brought 16 horses to Edmonton’s Century Mile. Trainer Robbie Henson, who last year had eight horses in Alberta last year with Bob Kingston, has brought another 20 horses to Alberta that he will train.

Meanwhile, a third B.C. trainer, veteran Robert J. Anderson, who has won 804 races for purse winnings of $10.7 million, has brought eight.

“Better racing, better track, better purses,” Van Overschot said of his reasons for coming to Alberta.

Van Overschot, who won eight stakes at Vancouver’s in 2003 alone, is very familiar with Edmonton winning two Canadian Derbies in Edmonton. He lit up the tote board in 1990 with Hurricane Benny at Northlands Park overcoming an outside post and a horribly muddy track.

“I bought him for $1,000 as a yearling. He bought me my first house. He was a huge price in the Derby. He went off at 25-1 in Edmonton but only 10-1 in Vancouver,” said Van Overschot, an avid golfer.

Thirty-one years later Van Overschot was back in the Canadian Derby winner’s circle - this time at Century Mile - with Uncharacteristic and Van Overschot’s friend and owner Adam Isfeld, who had only been involved with horse racing for a year. Isfeld had claimed Uncharacteristic for just $8,000 the previous fall.

By comparison, the horse Uncharacteristic defeated in the Canadian Derby, Myopic, was purchased for $200,000 by trainer Robertino Diodoro’s clients.

“He’s a lottery ticket,” Isfeld said after the race.

The mile and a quarter Derby was the second straight time that Uncharacteristic defeated Myopic. Five weeks earlier, Uncharacteristic did the same thing in Winnipeg's $100,000 mile and an eighth Manitoba Derby.

Isfeld said Van Overschot told him that this wasn’t normal. “He said that when you buy a horse for $8,000 this isn't going to happen every time.”

Now back in Edmonton, Van Overschot said Uncharacteristic “will not quit. He’s got the biggest heart I've ever seen.

“He got shut off the last time I ran him and wound up pulling ligaments in his shoulder,” of a race last year on July 12 at Century Mile.

“I turned him out and he’s back training. He should be running shortly.”

Uncharacteristic and Hurricane Benny aren’t the only Derby winners Van Overschot has trained.

In 2002 he won both the Alberta and Manitoba Derbies with Lord Shogun.

And Uncharacteristic isn’t the only Canadian Derby winner Van Overschot has in his barn.

He also has 2019 Derby winner Explode ready to run in Edmonton.

When Explode won the Canadian Derby he was owned by Ole Nielsen and trained by Mark Clourtier.

But Van Overschot, who has already has one win, a second and two thirds at Century Mile this meet claimed him last fall in Vancouver.

“He hasn’t run since last August but Van Overschot said “He pulled ligaments in his shoulder and I turned him out. He’s training like a three-year-old. He should run shortly.”

Van Overschot’s win at Century Mile came on the opening day card came with Force to Rekn With, who impressively took an allowance race. Two years ago, Van Overschot brought Force to Rekn With to Edmonton to win the Sonoma Stakes.

As for Henson, he’s here because his principal owners - Willow Creek Farm - always wanted to race in Alberta.

The leading owners in B.C. the last two years, Willow Creek made the move - buying Calmar Farms this past March even though Dairen Edwards, who was also the president of the B.C. Division of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society, passed away suddenly last October at just 59 leaving the rapidly expanding racing stable to Edwards’s wife Tia and daughter Micayla.

“I’m so glad Micayla and her family are carrying on her dad’s dream,” said Bob Kingston, who had eight Willow Creek Farm runners last year in Alberta including Destin To be Great, who won the Alberta Oaks coming from ninth place to win going away and returning $48.90 to win.

“They are the kind of new owners we need to attract,” said Kingston, a solid trainer, who won his 200th race last fall at Century Downs.

“They have been very supportive of Alberta racing buying 10 yearlings from the Alberta Sale over the last four years taking advantage of every incentive offered by Horse Racing Alberta.”

Steve Henson, Robbie’s dad, who was B.C.’s leading trainer last year, is staying in B.C. while Robbie, 36, takes over 25 horses of Willow Creek in Alberta.

“It’s a big move but a very exciting move,” said Robbie.

“Everything is so expensive in B.C.

“I love it out here. There’s less hustle and bustle. Edmonton is more of a laid back city.”

Wanting to be a jockey “But Mother Nature wasn’t on the same page; I’m too tall and too heavy,” Robbie said he’s got a barn full of “hard knocking horses. No super stars but all exciting nice horses.”

Then, there’s Robert J. Anderson, who has been blessed with many great horses like Travelling Victor, Sophie J, Lucky Baba and Grey Tobe Free.

Traveling Victor was easily his best winning 21 races and $775,000 capturing the Graded $250,000 Longacres Mile in 1984, the Graded B.C. Premier’s Championship in both 1983 and 1985 at Exhibition Park and the 1982 B.C. Derby, also at Exhibition Park.

“Travelling Victor was a big horse. He weighed 1,200 pounds at the start of his four-year-old season,” said Anderson.

“He was also very talented and strong. And versatile.

“He could carry his speed going a mile and a half or sit close going six furlongs.

“Travelling Victor was tough and tough to gallop. I had to down train him instead of up train.”

Sophie J won 9 of 13 races - seven of them stakes including the Ballerina in 1995 against older mares from post 12 over Alberta’s Dark Hours, the best horse recently deceased trainer Dale Saunders called “his best horse ever.”

“Sophie J should have won 10 stakes,” said Anderson. “She should have won the 1995 Oaks too. But Dark Hours got her revenge when my horse’s jockey got into trouble.”

Sophie J was B.C.’s Horse of the Year and then B.C.’s Champion Sprinter.

Lucky Baba had 17 wins and 12 seconds and won $401,000; Grey Tobe Free won nine of 31 starts and $312,000 - 7 of them stakes.

“I was never a leading trainer but I was a leading stakes-winning trainer a few times,” said Anderson, who made the decision to come to Alberta because of his owners.

“They were tired of races not going. If you have a $4,000 claimer you could run every seven days. But the races for better horses weren’t going.”

Anderson, whose father Robert G. Anderson trained horses, appears to have a lot of bullets.

He’s got Regal Riot, who has three stakes wins including the 2022 B.C. Derby and who was third in the 2022 Canadian Derby behind Diodoro’s entry of Great Escape and Red Knobs.

“Regal Riot is working lights out,” said Anderson. “He’s really liking this track.”

Then there’s J Dutton, who was second to his sister Barb Heads’ August Rain in last year’s Canadian Derby.

“He’s going good,” Anderson said after a five-furlong work in :59 4/5 last week. “Hopefully he gets to run on Friday.”

He’s also got allowance horse Gunfighter, who was second in last year’s Sir Winston Churchill and Chris Loseth stakes.

STOCK REPORT - Infinite Patience, who won 22 of 32 races and B.C.’s multiple Horse of the Year, has been bred to Hard Spun, runner-up in the 2007 Kentucky Derby.

Alberta jockey Alexander Marti had hip surgery Sunday after a spill in Saturday’s last race appearing to clip heels.

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Author: The Turcottes: The Remarkable Story of a Horse Racing Dynasty.