[caption id="attachment_8820" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] The largest Manitoba Derby Crowd ever turned out to see Queen Elizabeth II on July 15, 1970.[/caption] by Bob Gates The Manitoba Derby is a month away and what better time to look back at the history of the premiere race of the season. The 2018 edition of the Derby is…
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Jim Coleman left a “Hoofprint on our Heart”
by Bob Gates This week's blog story is a departure from our usual tale of yesteryear. In the early 1970s Toronto sports columnist, Jim Coleman took on a task that few would dare try. In 1971 Coleman together with Canadian Publishers, McClelland and Stewart Limited unleashed a classic piece of writing called "A Hoofprint On…
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G. Sydney Halter. CFL Czar and Lord High Commissioner of Manitoba Horse Racing
[caption id="attachment_8730" align="alignright" width="171"] G. Sydney Halter[/caption] by Bob Gates G. Sydney Halter was the fledgling Canadian Football League's (CFL) top boss from 1958 to 1966. As he was winding down his career in the world of Canadian football an opportunity arose for Halter to immerse himself in another sport he held near and dear…
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Captain Stanley Harrison – Pioneer of Racing in Winnipeg
[caption id="attachment_8671" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Captain Stanley Harrison winning with Miko Siah.[/caption] by Bob Gates Imagine yourself exploring central Africa much like Henry Morton Stanley in search of missionary and explorer David Livingston and stepping into a clearing from the jungle stands your quarry. Only in this case the phrased uttered is Captain Harrison, I presume?…
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Nathan “Nick” Block — Owner, Trainer, Philanthropist
[caption id="attachment_8622" align="alignright" width="1024"] Nick Block's Scarlet Rich wins the River Park Handicap at ASD in 1979.[/caption] by Bob Gates Owner, trainer, philanthropist. Now there are three words you don't usually see together, at least not in the world of horseracing in this part of the country. Owner, trainer – sure. But philanthropist? And then…
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Cowboy Jack Kaenel. A Preakness Memory.
by Bob Gates With this year's Preakness in the books, Justify and jockey Mike Smith are busy preparing their bid for racing's Triple Crown. For reasons unknown to me the recent Preakness stirred-up a 36 year-old memory of the second leg of the Triple Crown. In 1982 a young Jack Kaenel and his mount Aloma's…
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Robert J. “Boo Boo” Watt – A Racetracker for Seven Decades
[caption id="attachment_8521" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Light Dust wins Tweeworth Plate on June 15, 1957. Trainer Bob Watt accepts trophy platter for his favourite horse.[/caption] by Bob Gates On the evening of Friday August 30, 1946, old Polo Park looked more like Satan's Hell than it did a racetrack. The scene was chaotic. Flames leveled "B" barn…
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Remembering “Hustlin” Hugo Dittfach’s epic journey: From Concentration Camp to Leading Jockey
From World War ll Concentration Camp to 1958 Leading Jockey Title at the Downs by Bob Gates As a young boy Hugo Dittfach spent three years in a Russian prison camp. His journey through life would see him find his way to Calgary, Alberta where he would find work at a bus terminal lunch counter…
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Opening day 2018 beckons at ASD. A little history!
by Bob Gates Everyone's talking about the Kentucky Derby and Mothers' Day is just around the corner. You know what that means! Live racing is set to return to Assiniboia Downs! After a seven-month hiatus the Downs launches its 2018 season of thoroughbred horse racing this Mothers' Day, Sunday, May 13, and Darren Dunn and…
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Approaching a Day at the Races with Tom Hammond
Night School Handicapping Video courtesy of Jeremy Plonk and his Handicapping Team at HorsePlayerNow.com Approaching a Day at The Races You should always do some homework before you attend the races. It will save you money. Try to determine how each race will set up and whether that will help or hurt the favourite. Also look for live longshots that…
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