Blog
Northern Contract the real deal in Golden Boy Stakes
by George Any doubts as to whether Northern Contract was the real deal were ripped up on Wednesday night at Assiniboia Downs when he romped away in the stretch to win the $30,000 Golden Boy Stakes by seven lengths. Handled confidently be leading rider by Adolfo...
Tiny Broad Zone – Guts and Glory at 2 1/4-miles
by Bob Most of you have probably never heard of Broad Zone, and for good reason. His story began back in June 1956 at old Polo Park race track and climaxed at the "new" Assiniboia Downs in August 1961. Overall his career wasn't all that remarkable -- with one...
Playing the 15% takeout Pick-4 at ASD
by Rob Nine race days at ASD are complete and an alarming trend has begun to occur in the highly lucrative 15% takeout Pick-4. Six of the race days have had medium sized Pick-4 payoffs between $302 and $624 for a $2 wager. The other three race days have ended with...
Chalky Pick-4 results in many winners, but losers impress
by George Three favourites and a second choice made for slim pickings in the Pick-4 on Friday night at the Downs, but there were some excellent horse and jockey performances to take note of. The best performance in a non-winning role went to jockey Jalon Samuel in the...
New jockey, new horse, win debuts at Downs, Ladies saddle longshots
by George New jockey Jalon Samuel won with his first mount ever here, trainers Lorna Gray and Sherri Laing owned the longshots of the night, and a new 3-year-old filly named Aware definitely made us that with a powerful stretch drive in the finale on a sunny Wednesday...
June 6, 1976 – The day the mighty Thor ravaged the Downs
by Bob In the world of Norse mythology, Thor is recognized as the God of Thunder, but he is also closely associated with lightning and storms. On Sunday, June 6, 1976 Assiniboia Downs was the victim of his wrath! The day started off like any other, with me and my...
Betting on Breeding Part 1: Manitoba Stallions
by Rob To kick off the 2014 blog series for myself, I thought it would be great to discuss one of those topics in racing that is much talked about yet foreign to many people: the actual breeding of a race horse and how it affects the parimutuel wagering side of...
Jet Again impresses again on Saturday night, Deanna says YES!
by George Top 3-year-old Jet Again came storming home to win his second in a row, trainer Shelley Brown won her first race of the season, and the $2 Pick-4 paid $412.70 on a rainy Saturday night at the Downs. Jet Again, a 3-year-old chestnut gelding by Going...
Balooga Bull wins 2014 debut impressively, Pick-4 pool swells to over 23k
by George Reigning Champion Older Horse Balooga Bull made his 2014 debut a winning one, jockey Paul Nolan and trainer Ardell Sayler each scored a hat trick, and the Pick-4 pool swelled to over $23,000 with the help of a carryover on beautiful Friday night at the...
Remembering Turn to Rule, the little blazed-faced chestnut, that could
by Bob Turn to Rule's Jockey Club registration papers described his distinctive blaze as "a large irregular star and connected stripe," but what really differentiated the multiple stakes winner from so many of his rivals at Assiniboia Downs were his size and his...