Yearly Archives: 2013

Janine Smith first female jockey to win $50,000 Winnipeg Futurity in 84 years

[caption id="attachment_2880" align="alignright" width="270" caption="Janine Smith and Zdeno after winning the 2013 Winnipeg Futurity."][/caption]   by George Jockey Janine Smith was in the spotlight again on Saturday night at Assiniboia Downs when she became the first female jockey in history to win the $50,000 Winnipeg Futurity. Quite an accomplishment for the 24-year-old rider from Denman…
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Nolan moves to 6-win lead in jockey standings, Smith makes Pick-4 pay big

  [caption id="attachment_2858" align="alignright" width="270" caption="Janine Smith. All smiles after winning with Prairie Eclipse Friday night."][/caption] by George Paul Nolan scored a hat trick with wins in the first, second and sixth races on Friday night at the Downs, Adrian Ramos won a pair and Janine Smith booted home Prairie Eclipse in the seventh to…
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Psst, Hey Mister, Wanna Buy a Horse?

  by Bob [caption id="attachment_14940" align="alignright" width="270"] Omar's Gift wins 1942 Winnipeg Futurity at Polo Park.[/caption] The story of Omar’s Gift is the stuff that legends are made of! There was a time when most everyone knew the story of Omar’s Gift, but not so much any more, and as your historian, that’s where I…
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Bull bounces back; local owners get 1st & 2nd in Matron

By Ivan Bigg for George (on holidays) The Bull is back to his old winning self. [caption id="attachment_2811" align="alignright" width="470" caption="Balooga Bull is back!"][/caption] Balooga Bull, Horse of the Year at 2- and 3-years-old, showed on Friday that his talent is still intact at 4 despite an uncharacteristic fourth-place finish in his previous race, the…
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Rob’s ASD Picks for August 30 & 31

Redeeming myself ; Best bet: Balooga Bull Last Saturday turned out to be a real disappointing day for me, bankroll-wise. Betting two good winners in Big Bad Barry and Rising Icon and not having anything significant come of it was not good wagering strategy on my part. Last Saturday showed me some things and this…
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Jennifer Reid lights up board; Balooga returns

By Ivan Bigg for George (on holidays)   [caption id="attachment_2795" align="alignright" width="100" caption="Jennifer Reid - A rider posessed"][/caption] The big news Wednesday night, besides the pick-4 carryover, was the resurgence of jockey Jennifer Reid. Third in the standings, she rode like a rider possessed, lighting up the board with two longshot wins and one longshot…
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Remembering Admiration, the Runner from Down Under

  [caption id="attachment_2787" align="alignright" width="270" caption="Admiration"][/caption] by Bob Today we remember an Aussie lass whose looks were nothing special, but could she run! Admiration was a bay mare owned by K5 Stables. Actually at that time it was still the K4 Stables that ran at the Downs from 1980 to 1983. K-Tel founder Phil Kives…
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The Osiris Stakes – Fabulous 50 and Counting!

  [caption id="attachment_2756" align="alignright" width="270" caption="The original Osiris Juvenile Plate!"][/caption] by Bob So what do an Egyptian God and a horse named Papyrus have to do with our Osiris Stakes? According to Egyptian mythology, “Osiris” is the name given to the god of the afterlife. It is also the name of a racehorse that was…
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