Blog
Assiniboia Downs: Eight Decades and Counting
by Bob Gates "And Now for Something Completely Different" was a catchphrase from the British television comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus, and it just happens to be perfect for this week's blog. This isn't your typical history story, at least it's not what...
Downs Honors Contributions of Manitoba Duo with Hall of Fame Nominations
by Bob Gates R. James Speers and "Bobby" Summers are getting awful lonely over at 145 Pacific Avenue, home of the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (MSHOF). This past March, Assiniboia Downs took steps to address this situation by filing Hall of Fame nomination papers for...
M&M’s: Sweet Treats for the Soul
by Bob Gates Well, now that we have a couple of days of racing under our belt, let's celebrate with some M&M's. Nope, not the multi-coloured, button-shaped chocolates which are the flagship product of Mars, Incorporated. We're talking about milestones and memories...
A Toast: To the Dearly Departed and Season #65!
by Bob Gates How about a game of "Jeopardy," Assiniboia Downs style? Answer: September 16, 2021, to May 30, 2022. Question: What is the "off season" for the 2021 - 2022 Downs race meets? In case you're wondering that's 257 days. Whether that seems short or long...
A Salute to Assiniboia Downs
by Bob Gates "The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things: Of shoes - and ships - and sealing-wax - Of cabbages and kings - And why the sea is boiling hot -...
Celebrating 64 Years of the Gold Cup
by Bob Gates One of the many challenges facing Jack Hardy when he opened Assiniboia Downs in 1958 was to establish races that would grow into annual contests steeped in tradition. In the first year of operation the only signature race with "tradition" was the...
Tommy & Wayne Elias, the father and son team behind Question Mark Farm
by Bob Gates For those of us who go back far enough, few would debate that Question Mark Farm was one of the more iconic stable names to have ever graced a barn at Assiniboia Downs. Owner, trainer, breeder and Master of Question Mark Farm, Tommy Elias named his...
Clarence Marzolf: Let’s hear it for the “Little Guy” who ran his horses with the big boys!
by Bob Gates Clarence and Sue Marzolf were a husband-and-wife duo that made the backside of Assiniboia Downs their home for 40 years. Theirs was one of those partnerships that was envied by many and admired by all. We lost Clarence this past April and the Downs is...
Lawrence Greenberg: Master of Big Boy Stable
by Bob Gates "Lawrence was bigger than life. He was what I pictured a big owner to look like, just the way he carried himself. The stable name suited him to a tee." -- Irwin Driedger on Lawrence Greenberg You hear phrases like "bigger than life" all the time, but in...
Carl Norman Anderson. Old School Professional Horseman.
by Bob Gates Carl Anderson was only 13 years old when Assiniboia Downs opened in 1958, but it didn't take him long to find his way to the Portage Avenue track. Right from the "get-go" young Carl had a fondness for horses and his boyhood home was just northeast of the...