by Bob Gates "Long time horseman, Walter Brian Hutcheon, better known as “Hutch” at Assiniboia Downs, passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in Winnipeg on September 2, 2001. He was 59." ~ George Williams, Manitoba Thoroughbred Magazine 2002 For those of you...
by Bob Gates After researching 50 years of newspaper articles and the like, you'd really think there would be a captivating headline regarding a Derby or an award-winning horse that would stand out over all others. No sir! Oh, I found a couple of items that shone a...
by Bob Gates This year marks the 10th season that the history blog has been recalling racing memories. Back in 2012, I was asked to write a weekly historical blog that would run during the Downs live thoroughbred race meet. Fast forward to the present -- 180 stories...
by Bob Gates Yet another fair lass from Saskatoon who called Assiniboia Downs home. Sound familiar? It should, as Karen Hendricks, nee Chysyk, started her journey with Joan Phipps, whose story was told here in August 2019. Karen grew up a stone's throw away from...
by Bob Gates "Cull - to remove an inferior animal from a herd." The definition sounds sad, doesn't it? However, following Assiniboia Downs' 1962 race meet that is exactly what took place at the 6 ½-furlong oval on the edge of Winnipeg’s Perimeter Highway. The goal of...
by Bob Gates The 2021 season gets underway on Monday, May 24. This will be the second year of the pandemic "No Fans in the Stands" season of racing. Sure, it's not what everyone wants, but it beats the blazes out of seeing the local racing scene fade into obscurity. I...
by Bob Gates The last time I saw Smoky… he was an image in my rearview mirror. In September 2019, I had gone to the Pawluk farm for what I expected would be my final visit with Smoky Cinder. I had travelled to Woodlands with the expressed purpose of spending time with...
by Bob Gates Whittier Park, Polo Park and Assiniboia Downs owe a huge debt of gratitude to the horsemen who travelled near and far to race their four-legged athletes in Winnipeg. For the most part, these "out-of-towners" came from the central and mid-west United...
by Bob Gates R. C. Anderson, Frank Arnason, Jack Hardy, Phil Kives, R. J. Speers, J. W. Sifton and Hazel Wright make up the collective of builders that are remembered through memorial stake races in 2020 at Assiniboia Downs. There have been others over the years...
by Bob Gates Perhaps you've seen him before, the short heavy-set old man sitting on a bench in front of the grandstand. Certainly not recently because of the "no fans in the stands" directive, but in previous years the solitary senior could be found at his...