By Track Historian Bob Gates
This past February 15, Ken “Hank” Hendricks passed away peacefully at the age of 75.
Over the next four weeks, we will take a pictorial journey through just a few highlights of his career at Assiniboia Downs.
“Hank,” as he liked to be called, was the leading rider at the Downs in 1974 and 1975. During his time here, he rode in 34 meets and recorded a record-setting 1,685 wins. As for second place? Well, no active rider is even remotely close.
Here, Hank is pictured 50 years ago, on July 12, 1975. On this day, he won the first five races on the card, with Scott Tyler being win number five. It was the first time Hank had ever ridden five winners on one card, and with this victory, he set a track record for consecutive wins at the local oval (Gerry Hart photo).