Bill Drew with three-time stakes winner McKague at his farm in Oakbank.
By G.S. Thompson
Horse owner and retired agricultural consultant Bill Drew outdistanced the field to win the March Player’s Choice Handicapping Tournament last Saturday with a whopping total of $154.40, taking home $1,000 cash plus a trophy.
Drew’s winning total was $77.80 more than the runner-up, and probably the largest winning margin we’ve ever seen in this tournament. Ron Phelps finished second with $76.60 and collected $400, Terry Pagee was third at $73.40 and earned $200, Alex Chubinski fourth at $69.00 ($100) and Stan Stewin fifth at $68.20 ($50).
Drew has won the local handicapping tournaments in the past, “but it’s been a while,” he said, and he was also surprised at the large winning margin. “Everyone else must have had a bad day,” he said. “And that’s a pretty good group of handicappers.”
The victory was especially satisfying given his recent tournament results. Drew finished dead last in January and fourth in February. That turnaround lit a fire under him.
“I just said, okay, if I’m going to win these things, I better start putting some time into it,” he said. He did exactly that, and the results were staggering.
Drew’s day started with a patient study of replays before he committed his picks. His first winner was Denali Lightning, a 38-1 shot in a maiden claiming race at Oaklawn Park that paid $78.60 to win (capped at $42 for contest purposes). The angle was classic trip handicapping. The horse had been slammed at the gate in his previous start, but was turned right back on short rest, which told Drew the trainer had some confidence in him.
Drew also noticed a positive jockey switch to a rider who could get the horse out of the gate cleanly at Oaklawn. He liked what he saw in the replays and figured if the horse broke sharp, the race might set up perfectly for him to grab the lead and never look back.
“He got him out of the gate just like a bullet, and away he went,” said Drew.
His second big winner was X Y Prime at Gulfstream Park, a 30-1 shot in an allowance/optional claiming on the turf that paid $63.50 to win (capped at $42 for contest purposes). This one had been on Drew’s radar for a while, a horse he kept noticing for all the right reasons.
“I’d been watching him for a while,” said Drew. “He’d had some bad trips and the trainer was running him this time after he got in off the also-eligibles, so I thought he must have a chance. X Y Prime just held on to beat the 1-2 favourite and Drew was off to a great start.
He changed his strategy to shorter-priced horses after his two big winners, but managed to hit only one more winner. He won with Channel Place at 7-2 in the fifth race at Santa Anita, but the contest was won long before that winner. Interestingly, three of the longshots Drew had selected before switching strategies actually won. Had he played those, he might have hit the $200 mark.
Drew’s advice to other players in these contests is straightforward: trust your convictions.
“Don’t be afraid to take a shot if you like the horse,” he said. “If you have a conviction on a horse, take it. What’s the worst thing that could happen? You don’t win the contest, that’s all.”
As for his handicapping philosophy, Drew keeps it simple. Pace is everything. If he can’t visualize how a race is going to unfold, he passes on it. He has also leaned harder on trainer angles in recent years.
“But mostly I just look at pace,” said Drew. “That’s the number one thing. If I can’t visualize how the race comes together, then I probably shouldn’t bet it.”
Star Manitoba-bred McKague, owned by Bill Drew and trained by Carl Anderson, wins the 2025 J.W. Sifton Stakes. Damario Bynoe up. (Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo)
Drew turns 70 at the end of April, and he still takes care of his own horses on his farm north of Oakbank. One of those horses is the much-loved McKague, one of the most popular horses to race at Assiniboia Downs in recent memory. McKague has now been retired to a life of leisure at the farm, sound and healthy, which is exactly how Drew always wanted it to end.
“He’s so honest,” Drew said. “I just have so much respect for him. He’s never had a vet bill. He was born at Ross McKague’s farm. Gary Danelson did a great job with him as a 2-year-old, and then Carl Anderson took over and did the same.” Superbly managed, the star Manitoba-bred won the Phil Kives Stakes twice and the J.W. Sifton Stakes in his eight-year career, compiling a record of 9-11-10 from 34 starts for earnings of over $200,000.
Drew credited tournament organizer Sheri Glendinning for keeping the local handicapping contests running smoothly and making them worth entering. “Sheri does a super job,” he said. “These contests are a lot of fun.”
“I think more people should go in them.”