by Bob Gates There's a common thread that links books written to honour champions of the past and our humble blog stories. Both remember special equines from the early days of the Winnipeg racing scene who have long since passed. Not this time around! This multiple...
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 George Balooga Bull became the first horse in the history of Assiniboia Downs to win three straight Gold Cups on Saturday night and he did it the hard way, forcing a suicidal pace before powering away to win the 57th running of Manitoba's most prestigious race for...
by George If winning the Manitoba Derby was based solely on the company you kept, Master Lightning would be tough to beat. The royally-bred stakes-placed son of Bluegrass Stakes-G1 winner Pulpit had been running competitively against the best 3-year-olds in North...
by George Balooga Bull brought his "A" game for the Wheat City Stakes, Jet Again did the same in the Harry Jeffrey Stakes, and Paul Nolan won half of the eight races in front of a large appreciative crowd on Wednesday night at the Downs. Balooga Bull had lost two in a...
by George Magic D' Oro let champion Balooga Bull have things all his own way in the $30,000 Free Press Stakes at Assiniboia Downs on Friday night, and still beat him. In fast time. Balooga Bull went right to the lead and took the inside as expected in the first stakes...
by George Three favourites and a second choice made for slim pickings in the Pick-4 on Friday night at the Downs, but there were some excellent horse and jockey performances to take note of. The best performance in a non-winning role went to jockey Jalon Samuel in the...
by George Reigning Champion Older Horse Balooga Bull made his 2014 debut a winning one, jockey Paul Nolan and trainer Ardell Sayler each scored a hat trick, and the Pick-4 pool swelled to over $23,000 with the help of a carryover on beautiful Friday night at the...
Trainer Ardell Sayler put on quite a show, the weather co-operated beautifully, and the fans packed the house for Mother's Day live racing weekend at the Downs. It was clear that people thoroughly enjoyed getting out of the house after one of the longest, coldest...
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...