Blog
Happy Birthday Gary Danelson! All-time leading trainer at Assiniboia Downs!
by Bob Gary Danelson, son of Henry and Hazel, and a native of Scobey Montana, is the all-time leading trainer at Assiniboia Downs. He entered the 2012 season with 1,115 wins and has now added 12 more to sit atop the all-time leader board at the Downs with 1,127 wins....
Slew of stakes at ASD this weekend feature the best horses on the grounds, Balooga Bull and betting opportunities
by Rob There are five stakes races this weekend at ASD featuring the best horses on the grounds, including Manitoba Derby winner Balooga Bull, who will face seven rivals in a prep for the Gold Cup on Saturday. The Distaff, Debutante, Osiris Plate, C.T.H.S Sales Stakes...
Thank You, Mr. Hardy
by Bob Let’s take a time out from our usual activities this week and remember James C. Hardy, the founder of Assiniboia Downs. The year was 1957, R. James Speers had been dead for two years, Polo Park race track had closed its doors in July 1956, and the demise of...
Pure Glory wins 2012 Agassiz, Pick-4 pays over $10,000
by George Pure Glory pounced early under former Jamaican riding champ Trevor Simpson and wired the field in the $50,000 Agassiz Stakes by 3 ¼-lengths on Saturday night at ASD, capping off a $2 Pick-4 that paid a whopping $10,923. Was it gettable? It certainly was for...
$4,321 Pick-4 Carryover for Saturday, Moccasin wins Manitoba Quarter Horse Derby
by George Sharpen your pencils. Longshot Count of Notia came rolling home wide and fast under jockey Chris Husbands to win the seventh race by a neck at ASD on Friday night and force a Pick-4 carryover of $4,321 heading into the Saturday’s card. Expect the Pick-4 pool...
Don’t forget class in your handicapping
by Rob Modern handicapping is so heavily focused on speed, how fast a horse ran and numbers, that people often forget about another important basic form of handicapping. Class handicapping puts heavy emphasis on what level a horse runs at and what kind of company it...
Tough Manitoba-bred Victor’s Pride made no apologies
by Bob Have you ever noticed that when the subject of Manitoba breds comes up, it almost sounds like you find yourself having to apologize for the breed? To varying degrees, many of us have done that, but when you think about it, there have been some very good...
Wacky Friday night longshots result in Pick-4 Carryover of $4,299 into Saturday night
by George Friday night at the Downs started off great for the chalk players and got progressively wackier, which was good news for the longshot players but bad news for the Pick-4 players. The latter will be back at it again tonight to take advantage of a...
Derby Weekend Hangover
by Rob For some of us, Manitoba Lotteries Derby weekend was an absolute godsend; for others it was a nightmarish affair. Big favorites like Golden Stripe and Portales were defeated, while hometown heroes like Balooga Bull and Jon Q prevailed. To be honest, the most...
The Mighty Seabiscuit Raced in Winnipeg?
by Bob Sorry, Seabiscuit didn’t race here, but now that I have your attention let me tell you the story of a horse much like the “Biscuit” who raced in our fair city in the “dirty ‘30s” and early ‘40s. Joey was a champion racehorse whose career spanned 10 years from...