By Bob Gates Every now and again a story idea comes along, and I wonder how it is that I haven’t done it already. I’ve written well over 200 blogs, yet I somehow missed “Michigan,” and that just doesn’t seem right. Michigan Avenue was a stakes-placed gelding who...
by Bob Gates R. James Speers and "Bobby" Summers are getting awful lonely over at 145 Pacific Avenue, home of the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (MSHOF). This past March, Assiniboia Downs took steps to address this situation by filing Hall of Fame nomination papers for...
by Bob Gates On March 27, 2021 Todd Kenneth Kabel was more than a thousand miles away from his home track, Assiniboia Downs, when the "Big Boss of the Riders" gave him the "Riders Up" call for the final time. He was 55. This week we celebrate the brilliance 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 Welcome to the second in our five-part series devoted to the 70th Running of the Manitoba Derby. Today we look at more than 40 years of Derby memories, starting with the most recent and working our way back through time. August 6, 2012 - Winner:...