Island Fling in 1979 with the original Gold Cup trophy By Bob Gates Nothing draws more attention than a good mystery. The mere mention of Loch Ness, Stonehenge, Bigfoot, Amelia Earhart or the Bermuda Triangle will captivate any audience. Our focus on the local horse...
by Bob Gates Carl Anderson was only 13 years old when Assiniboia Downs opened in 1958, but it didn't take him long to find his way to the Portage Avenue track. Right from the "get-go" young Carl had a fondness for horses and his boyhood home was just northeast of the...
by Bob Gates For as long as most of us can remember, the first Saturday in May is reserved for the Kentucky Derby, but not this year. The "Run for the Roses" was rescheduled to the fall because of COVID-19. You just knew NBC wasn't going to let an opportunity like...
by Bob Gates with George Williams photos The Downs' historic 60th Season of thoroughbred racing winds up this Sunday, September 10 and what a year! I've been doing these blog stories for the past six seasons of live racing and after 100 plus stories from our...
by Bob Gates Much has been written about the president and founder of K-tel International since his unexpected death on April 27, 2016. Today we leave the world of the Miracle Brush, Veg-O-Matic, Teflon Fry Pan, Patty Stacker and records like "Hooked on Classics" and...
by Bob No one has ridden more winners at Assiniboia Downs than the man they call "Hank". Ken Hendricks sits atop the Downs' leader board with 1,666 trips to the Winner's Circle. A quick scan of those who follow shows that only two of the top 20 riders are still active...
by Bob On August 5, 1967 the stars above Assiniboia Downs aligned perfectly for rider Robert Roy "Bobby" Stewart and his chestnut charge Pool to Market, and the pair put on a fabulous show for the 5,000-plus patrons that filed into the track that evening. The closest...
by George Paul Brandt’s Balooga Bull silenced all naysayers with his second consecutive victory in the $50,000 Assiniboia Downs Gold Cup on Saturday night, becoming only the sixth horse in 56 years to win the prestigious race in back-to-back years. Trained by...
by George There’s no question that the highlight of the past weekend at Assiniboia Downs was Balooga Bull demolishing his opposition in the 55th running of the $50,000 Gold Cup on Saturday night. The time for the race wasn’t fast, 1:51.80 for the 1 1/8-miles, but he...
by Rob The second last weekend of live racing will highlight four of the final five stakes races of the year. These four races will determine divisional honors and will stamp some of our equine athletes as horses for the ages. These $50,000 races are the Matron, the...