Danelson’s Omaha Warrior is HBPA’s Top 2-Year-Old Colt/Gelding for 2025 (Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo)
By Track Historian Bob Gates
You might wonder why a three-year-old gelding with four career starts somehow rates a historical blog story, and that’s a fair point.
However, in this instance, his master is Gary Danelson, who’s been racing for the better part of 70 years, with all but a handful of those taking place at Assiniboia Downs. Gary is the Downs’ all-time leading trainer with 1,255 wins. As for career highlights, how about these fast facts:
- Won his first race at the Downs on August 29, 1959.
- Became the Downs’ all-time leading trainer on May 26, 2001, with 880 trips to the Winner’s Circle.
- Recorded his 1,000th win on August 10, 2004.
- Won three leading trainer titles. In 1969, he tied with Bob Watt; in 1970, he tied with Clayton Gray; and in 2003, he won the title outright.
- Won the Gold Cup twice.
- Won the R. J. Speers five times.
- Was inducted into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2024.
Assiniboia Downs has been in operation in eight different decades, and Gary has been here for every one of them. This August 28 will mark Gary’s 89th birthday. Be sure to wish him a happy birthday. He’d really like that!
How many of these Danelson charges do you remember? Smoky Cinder, Electric Fever, Hi Lord, Tadaa, Fancy Bru, Kate’s Princess, Jilleah, Smart Figure, Car Keys, Justcallmetater, E. Harner, Last Lea, Vader, Tactical Girl, and Criso Como
Omaha Warrior wins the 96th running of the Winnipeg Futurity (Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo)
Every once in a while, something special happens at the racetrack, and September 30, 2025, was one of those times. Eighty-eight-year-old Gary Danelson’s Omaha Warrior won the 96th running of the Winnipeg Futurity. It was also Gary’s first win in the classic, but I’m getting a little ahead of myself.
Warrior and Antonio get it done in the Futurity (Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo)
Omaha Warrior’s story starts at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Sale in 2024. It wasn’t long after the sale that I heard Gary had bought a yearling, and by the time I spoke with Gary, Omaha Warrior was a two-year-old. A two-year-old!?
Gary hadn’t owned one of those in ages. The way he tells it, the last two-year-old he owned was probably River Lord or Hi Lord, and that was more than 45 years ago. There was something about Gary’s voice when he talked about his new youngster; let’s call it an air of optimism.
If you remember, Gary had a serious run-in with his Kate’s Princess in August 2024. He got himself all banged up and was hurting in a big way. Some wondered whether 2024 would be his last year here at the Downs. At season’s end, I visited Gary and Bonnie before they left for home. Gary was in bad shape! He desperately needed some R&R at home and some medical attention for his ongoing health issues.
It turns out that going home, seeing his own doctor, and getting some home-cooked meals worked wonders. So, he and Bonnie made the trek back to the Downs for the 2025 season. Yes, he had stepped back from training, turning those chores over to Jared Brown. With young Omaha Warrior came an infusion of fresh blood and, with it, a new lease on life for the veteran horseman. To be clear, Gary still had mobility issues, but the gelded son of Omaha Beach breathed life into our friend from Scobey, Montana.
Omaha Warrior made four starts in 2025. His first outing was a third-place finish, where he ran a little green. However, his next race, the Graduation Stakes, was a different story, as he beat his four rivals after taking over in mid-stretch and drawing away. On September 10 in the Osiris Stakes, Warrior stalked the pace off the rail and finished a lacklustre fourth, with no excuses.
In what would be his final outing of 2025, the Winnipeg Futurity, he got to stretch his legs a bit while going six furlongs. He again stalked the speed duel from the outside, only this time he took over at the sixteenth pole and never looked back. He finished strongest among his competition, and the win was never in doubt.
Gary and Bonnie rush to the winner's circle to greet the Warrior (Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo)
What a rush for Gary, a man who had won almost everything there was to win at the Downs, to finally win his first Winnipeg Futurity. Gary was over-the-moon thrilled, and he couldn’t hide his excitement. The winner’s circle was chaos. Gary invited everyone he knew, and anyone he saw that night, to have their picture taken with Warrior. Gary is notorious for a grim-looking smile in his win pics, but on this night he was beaming from ear to ear. Look at the photos and judge for yourself.
Gary Danelson, Antonio Whitehall, and Bonnie McCrory are all smiles in the Futurity (Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo)
On the evening of the 96th running of the Winnipeg Futurity, Gary got more than his money’s worth out of Omaha Warrior, his own personal fountain of youth. You might say that Warrior was the perfect horse for Gary at this point in his life.
Photo op with the Futurity trophy — Gary's first win in the race (Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo)
As Warrior comes into his three-year-old season, what can we expect? Who knows? After all, it’s horse racing. For the moment, Gary is simply enjoying his gelded fountain of youth. So, let’s wish Gary and Warrior continued success.
Did I mention that there is one other race that Gary has yet to win in his multi-decade career, and it’s the Manitoba Derby…
Do we dare to dream?