"When Badgetts Star races, everybody wins" Thoroughbred from Pink Ribbon Stable has a great track record in the fight against breast cancer... Whenever Badgetts Star trots into the winner’s circle at Hastings Racecourse, the five-year-old mare has no idea she’s making a real difference for breast cancer patients in the Valley. All Badgetts Star knows these days is she’s on a winning streak, and the Langley ladies who own her couldn’t be happier about it. “She is so loved by all of the ladies,” said Pink Ribbon Stable manager Dixie Jacobson, president of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society of B.C. and part owner of Badgetts Star. “She’s the most amazing thing. She pays her own way, and has earned money for breast cancer.” The beautiful Thoroughbred has won four out of five races this year, raising a total of $4,000 for the Breast Cancer Foundation. Comprised of women dedicated to the fight against breast cancer, Pink Ribbon Stable is quickly establishing itself on the Thoroughbred racing scene. Badgetts Star’s jockey’s silks are pink and white, the official colours for breast cancer. Badgetts Star has been racing for the ladies for the past three years, spending her winters in luxury at Jacobson’s Pink Ribbon Stable in Langley. A Badgetts Star’s side is groom and cancer survivor Cecilia Maass, another proud female member of the Pink Ribbon Team. “We are a group of women who have all been touched by breast cancer either personally or with a family member and we decided to do something. This is what we did,” said Jacobson. It’s a fun way to enjoy the track, but when you have your own horse, the races are so excitins, she said. “Sometimes my heart is just racing, sometimes I can barely watch,” said Jacobson about what it’s like to watch Badgetts down the backstretch. But as the confident mare continues to break away from the rest of the pack, ending up proudly in the winner’s circle, the breast cancer ladies worry she’ll be claimed. “I even had a call from Alberta and I keep reminding people, she’s raising money for cancer,” she said. Jacobson is the organizer of the Crystal Gala Foundation, which organizes the ever-successful cancer fundraisers that have raised more than $750,000 in the past decade. “We became a foundation because we wanted the money raise to stay in the Valley,” she said. And it is doing just that. When the Cancer Centre opens at the new Abbotsford Hospital this month, a ward has been dedicated to the fundraising efforts. It’s called the “Crystal Breast Health Unit”. Jacobson herself has a horse named Crystal Gala that has done nicely for the cause. “I live and work in the community and it’s important to give back. This is my way.” Jacobson’s daughter Toni Cloutier is Badgett Star’s trainer. The winning Thoroughbred will race again ‘when it suits her”, explains Jacobson. Monique Tamminga...Langley Times |