by George If you needed an indication of where live racing at Assiniboia Downs was headed, Wednesday night offered some clues. People don't invest money in this game unless they think there's a future, and they stepped up on Wednesday evening with four claims. In the...
by Bob This week we remember two promising young apprentices who got their start at Assiniboia Downs in the 1960s, Bobbie Dimma and Vernon Sayler. Most of us are familiar with "Bobbie". Yes, that's how his name appeared on his birth certificate, Bobbie not Robert,...
by George Sly Gold rebounded off a tough-trip loss in the Graduation Stakes to wire his field in the $30,000 Osiris Stakes for 2-year-olds on Wednesday night at Assiniboia Downs, and in the process turned the tables on Graduation Stakes victor Spider's Alibi. Taking...
by Bob "He was a real gentleman." That's how people who knew the man that trained horses and ran Jack Hardy's JY Farm in St. Adolphe for the better part of 20 years, described George Victor Howell. The Howell family hailed from Saskatchewan, but made their home in...
by Bob Clifford "Shorty" Gray hired 11-year-old Irwin Driedger as an exercise rider. The young blonde schoolboy from Russell, Manitoba tipped the scales at 78 pounds and got his first win on a race track at the Neepawa Fair Grounds on horse named Admiral Zenith. Who...
by Bob On August 5, 1967 the stars above Assiniboia Downs aligned perfectly for rider Robert Roy "Bobby" Stewart and his chestnut charge Pool to Market, and the pair put on a fabulous show for the 5,000-plus patrons that filed into the track that evening. The closest...
Manitoba Derby, 66th Running Distance: 1 1/8 Miles. Age: 3-Year-Olds. Purse: $75,000 Guaranteed Weights: Fillies, 121 lbs. Colts & Geldings, 124 lbs. Fees: $100 to nominate - $700 to enter - $700 to start Click horse names for more information. Post Horse &...
by Rob The seven horses in Monday's Manitoba Derby make up a competitive field that should provide both a fast pace and a closing kick, which makes for a wonderful show! All of the competitors have strengths that make them interesting, but also have weaknesses that...
by George Northern Contract is just getting started in his career but he has already won three of six starts including the local Golden Boy Stakes. Trainer Don Schnell thought highly enough of the son of Northern Afleet to run him in the Turf Paradise Derby in his...
by George Street Prancer has been looking for a perfect spot to run in. The Manitoba Derby fits the bill. And his Eclipse Award winning trainer Steve Asmussen certainly knows where to run his horses. Asmussen currently ranks second in North America with 189 wins and...