Brian “Ivan Bigg” Gory
By G. S. Thompson
Brian Gory, known to many in the racing world as “Ivan Bigg,” passed away on March 20, 2025, at 4:55 a.m. – symbolically on the first day of spring – after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 81, just eight days shy of his 82nd birthday.
There’s now an empty carrel in the south end of the clubhouse at Assiniboia Downs that speaks volumes. For two decades, that space belonged to Brian, whose presence at the track was as reliable as the racing season itself.
Born on March 28, 1943, Brian grew up in Winnipeg’s North End on Cathedral Avenue. Even as a child, his exceptional abilities shone through. At Robertson Elementary School, he earned the trophy as the best student, an achievement his sister Pat noted was still recorded at the school decades later.
His entrepreneurial spirit emerged early when, as a youngster, he collected returnable bottles for pocket money and organized comic book trading sessions with neighborhood children. This creativity would become his hallmark throughout life.
Brian’s career path was as diverse as his interests. He began his writing career with a “Youth Beat” column in the Winnipeg Tribune, before moving on to positions with the Globe and Mail and the Ottawa Citizen. His journey eventually led him to Assiniboia Downs, where he served as a marketing consultant beginning in the early 2000s.
At the Downs, Brian created “The Insider,” the predecessor to the track’s current newsletter, which he wrote for 16 years, while also writing a horse racing column for the Winnipeg Free Press Canstar Community News. He then became a freelancer for the Canadian Thoroughbred Magazine.
His “Bettor’s Edge” column in the Canadian Thoroughbred was highly regarded, but perhaps his proudest moments came in 2023, when he was nominated for a Sovereign Award, and also became the sole public handicapper to predict the top three finishers in the Queen’s Plate – including a 16-1 second-place finisher. This feat earned him an invitation from Woodbine to write a column predicting the outcome of the Woodbine Mile.
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Beyond his handicapping prowess, Brian connected with fans through his popular “I Won Bigg” Saturday morning workshops. “For years I attended the Saturday morning workshops,” said former Handicapper of the Year Ron Phelps. “It was something I looked forward to every Saturday. Nowhere else could you have two hours of entertainment and a chance at winning a good payoff for $20. There were always a lot of laughs and also a lot of heated arguments. Through the laughs and arguments Brian always held his own.”
Brian was known as a “rules guy” in his handicapping approach, sticking firmly to his proven methods. “He never swayed on those beliefs over the years I knew him,” said Phelps. “And I respected that. Many times it worked, so good on him.”
Racing was just one facet of Brian’s multidimensional life. In the gardening world, he was affectionately known as “Mr. Tomato” and gained recognition for his “Kozy-Coats” plant protection product. He collaborated with Kevin Twomey of T&T Seeds, appeared on “The Manitoba Gardener” radio show on CJOB, and wrote articles for editor Dorothy Dobbie for a magazine of the same name. His landscaping talents turned his modest Kilbride Avenue yard into such a showpiece that it attracted bus tours of garden enthusiasts.
Remarkably, even in his final summer, Brian completed a full landscaping job single-handedly, working with 30-pound rolls of sod despite his advancing age.
The arts also claimed a portion of Brian’s creative energy. From elementary school performances to high school productions, his acting talent caught the attention of directors. His sister recalled that he was so impressive that he was invited to perform at the Manitoba Theatre Centre in “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
One of Brian’s favourite stories was about attending Secretariat’s final race at Woodbine. As friend Louise Townsend recounted, “At the last minute he was able to get a cheap sale seat from Winnipeg, and with little time to prepare he wore shorts aboard the plane and out to the racetrack. It had been warm in Winnipeg, but that day Toronto experienced some unseasonably cold and wet weather. Not one to worry, Brian bragged that he was THERE to see the ‘Greatest Race Horse’ run his final race before the trip to the breeding shed.”
Bill Drew, another friend, remembered encountering Brian about a month before his passing: “I think a lot of people were always appreciative of the effort Brian put in to bring fans and people together. I bumped into Brian about a month ago and he told me about his situation. I was taken aback by how calm and incredibly brave he was. The racetrack is full of interesting people who walk to their own beat. Brian was certainly one of them, and he was a really good guy.”
Larry Liebrecht, who co-hosted the I Won Bigg workshops with Brian in his final year, fondly remembers their partnership and Brian’s distinctive approach to handicapping, which was rules-based. The pair shared some notable success at the betting windows, with Liebrecht recalling, “Brian and I won a couple of big, decent pots ourselves. Our biggest hit together was $12,000 with a Pick 4.”
The I Won Bigg group also had impressive collective victories, including a few large Pick 6 wins. Liebrecht confirms the popular Saturday morning I Won Bigg workshops will continue, saying, “We’ve got our core of 20 to 30 people for the most part, and for now, we’re going to continue on,” preserving Brian’s legacy of shared handicapping wisdom.
“I’m sure he’ll be watching us from above and helping us,” said Liebrecht.
Phelps echoed this sentiment of lasting impact: “As we are all aging, ASD is starting to lose a lot of good people who have meant a lot to me. Brian was one of them. Thanks Brian for being you, and I will always remember the fun times. I might even use a couple of rule horses in my next handicapping session.”
A celebration of Brian’s life will be held on Wednesday, April 23, at 2 p.m. at Assiniboia Downs, where friends and colleagues will gather to share memories .
A fitting final post for a man who lived life at full gallop.
