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 In the early 1950s Eddie Dean wrote a song that he said was inspired by a dream. Dean recorded "Hillbilly Heaven" in 1954 but it never really caught on. In 1961 Tex Ritter, father of the late TV actor John Ritter, released his version, which became a huge...
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 Imagine, a blog dedicated to all things historical, and this week we travel all the way back in time to last year's Derby. Murray Duncan and the Estate of Garylle Bruce Stewart's Plentiful won the 69th running of the Manitoba Derby in 2017, and that’s our...