by Bob With less than a handful of live racing dates left, the end of the 2015 season at Assiniboia Downs is almost upon us. It has been a challenging year, like others recently, but that seems to be the norm these days. And I have a confession! I love this sport and...
by Bob Those of us who go back to the early 1980s will know that "Spike" is none other than Northern Spike. He was owned and bred by the late Ivan Dowler in partnership with sons Graham, John and Dan - Graham and John have both passed as well. Spike was a handsome...
Bidding has now started! The next round of fundraising for paralyzed jockey Alyssa Selman has started with an auction of historic racing memorabilia on eBay. A full description of each package is available on the eBay site and also below. All of the items listed on...
by Bob Sixty years ago this past July 19, Robert James Speers, the "Father of Thoroughbred Horse Racing on the Canadian Prairies" died as a result of a massive heart attack at his home in River Heights, right here in Winnipeg. Speers was only 72 when he was laid to...
by Bob Today's flashback in history recalls the 1994 rivalry between Honest Onyx and Exclusive Gold. Robert Ripley, creator of Ripley's Believe It or Not, would have loved this one. Imagine two thoroughbreds so evenly matched that after running their eyeballs out for...
by Bob The very title conjures up images of Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen and company! Cue the main theme and seven of the most successful riders in the history of Assiniboia Downs make their entrance on the stage that is our humble 6 1/2-furlong oval. This...
by Bob When it comes to Derby memories, it gets no better than Merry's Jay win on August 2, 1976. And it couldn't have happened to a nicer couple. Hugh and Ruth Jackson were another one of those special husband/wife teams that called Assiniboia Downs home. Our...
by Bob When he's not falling out of trees, Woodlands' Ed Pawluk can be found hard at work on his 40-acre farm with his partner-for-life, Joyce. Some 40 odd years ago, Ed and Joyce sold the trailer park they owned and operated, moved to Woodlands, and built a house...
by George Paralyzed Canadian jockey Alyssa Selman was told by doctors this week that she has only a five percent chance of ever walking again, but she bubbled with talk of a dream house and horses on Thursday night in the Rehabilitation Ward at Winnipeg's Health...
by Bob If this was a tale about the old west, Michael Somerset Smith would have been one the guys wearing a white Stetson. You know -- the one the good guys wore in westerns. Simply put, Mike loved horses, and as a youth he spent as much time as he could at Max...