Milestones & Memories Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at the 1970 Manitoba Centennial Derby by Bob Gates Welcome to the new "normal" as the Downs makes the final preparations to open for its inaugural "No Fans In The Stands" 2020 race meet. We have all lived the...
by Bob Gates The end is near! Okay, perhaps that's a little too melodramatic, but this is my final blog story as the season draws to a close on Sunday, September 9. Wow, it seems like we just got started. Is it me or do the meets just go by faster every year? Consider...
by Bob Gates Horses that know how to win are the most revered in the sport of horse racing. Every owner, trainer, jockey and groom wants one -- a horse that knows where the wire is and lays it down to get there when it counts, every time, with no regard for the odds...
Jockey Chris Husbands won four of the eight races on Mothers' Day opening night 2016 at Assiniboia Downs; trainer Tom Gardipy Jr. scored a hat trick, and trainer Gary Danelson bookended the card with wins in the first (Don Gray Memorial) and eighth races in front of a...
by Bob This week we remember two promising young apprentices who got their start at Assiniboia Downs in the 1960s, Bobbie Dimma and Vernon Sayler. Most of us are familiar with "Bobbie". Yes, that's how his name appeared on his birth certificate, Bobbie not Robert,...
by Bob Arguably the most hallowed piece of real estate at any race track is the Winner's Circle, also sometimes referred to as the winner's enclosure and the charmed circle. Oddly enough, ours is not, and never has been, a circle! Mind you, not all race tracks even...
by Rob The 2013 race meet was highlighted by a group of horses that dominated their respective divisions. It was an absolute honour to watch these horses dominate each group. The memories roll back of Balooga Bull’s comeback, of Zdeno’s Futurity and of Portales’ big...
Competitive fires still burning in local living legend by Bob Who knew? Downs’ legendary graded stakes-placed and multiple stakes winner Smoky Cinder, a grandson of the mighty Northern Dancer, is alive and well at 20! One night at the track I approached the man...
Wet track on Victoria Day Monday could mean more longshots by George Jockey Chris Husbands scored his third hat trick in four days on Saturday night at ASD and apprentice Janine Smith topped the largest Superfecta ($5,106.80) of the weekend so far when she won...
Jockeys Paul Nolan, Chris Husbands and Trevor Simpson stole the show on Saturday night at the Downs with a pair of hat tricks and a double-ender that shut out all other riders. Veteran trainer Gary Danelson also reminded us once again that we should never leave...