Lucky or what? No. 9 figures prominently in jockey Gutierrez’s career

SCENE & HEARD: Mario Gutierrez insists that he is not superstitious and there’s no reason to doubt the word of today’s hottest item in professional sports. We can only assume, then, that he is oblivious to the fact that the number 9 keeps popping into his life.

Born on Sept. 19, Gutierrez drew the 19th post for the Kentucky Derby where I’ll Have Another had been spending his days and nights in Barn No. 9, Stall No. 9 at Churchill Downs. Two weeks later, horse and jockey drew the ninth post for the Preakness.

Post positions for the Belmont won’t be determined until three days before the third leg of the Triple Crown. The race is on June 9.

One more item from the Twilight Zone file: Mario won his first race at Hastings Racecourse in 2006 on the same day the Belmont was running in New York.

HERE ‘ N’ THERE: Emotions were running high during the Hot Stove segment of the Canucks Alumni Charity Golf Classic at Morgan Creek on Tuesday night when Pat Quinn was saluted by players he coached during his years in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Vancouver and Toronto. Shane Foxman of CBC Sports hosted the session that included Quinn, Kirk Mclean, Garry Valk, Tom Gorence and Charlie Simmer. It ended with original Canucks captain Orland Kurtenbach voicing a video walk down memory lane supported by some passionate footage prepared by Mike Hall and his Canucks broadcast division crew ... Vancouver Giants always- active promotional minded Dale Saip is already working on a salute to the 194546 Pacific Coast Hockey League champion Vancouver Canucks for the Giants’ home opener on Sept. 21 against Victoria. Saip won’t have a big roster of legendary players to entertain. The only living members are Andy Clovechok, 88, who lives in Kamloops and Ernie Dougherty, 87, who lives in the Canucks Alumni Suite at Rogers Arena. Or at least it seems that way.

SHORT HOPS: Team Radio, in concert with Giants management, has not yet named a play- by- play broadcaster for the coming WHL season. They might not have to look very far.

Eddie Gregory, voice of the Coquitlam Express for the past seven years, is also a producer of talk radio shows at Team 1040. He was named the BCHL’S play- by- play man of the year in 2011. Express executive Darcy Rota says he would hate to lose Gregory but he thinks the young Vancouver native is ready for the next step.

END ZONE: The deadline to file nominations for potential 2013 inductees into the BC Sports Hall of Fame is Oct. 1. Last year there was no representative in the media category. Admirers of veteran and homegrown freelance television producer Larry Isaac should take note. His acknowledgment is long, long overdue.