Thursday, April 15, 2021

Assiniboia Downs The Insider E-Newsletter

Vol. 16 No. 14 (Issue #785)

By Ivan Bigg

 

Weekly Horseplayer Report and Fun Stuff

CLICK HERE FOR THE BEST VIEW OF THIS COLUMN
and, remember, if you don’t receive The Insider in the usual way,
you can always find it--and past columns--at ASDowns.com

COVID-19 TESTING IS AVAILABLE DAILY BY APPOINTMENT ONLY AT ASD. See details here.

KENTUCKY DERBY FLASHBACK

The Derby stunner that inspired a movie and embarrassed the announcer because he missed the winner’s up-the-rail move

Bullet briefs . . .

  • Can Swiss Skydiver knock off mighty Monomoy Girl in $1m stakes?
  • Racing writer enjoys "best day in years" when his prediction comes true
  • What happened exactly 109 years ago this morning? Think water.
  • Look who will be carding races at New York tracks!
  • Santa delivers a bacon treat to "bigger" players
 
READY FOR THE NEXT PLAYER’S CHOICE TOURNEY IN NINE DAYS? With Mohawk harness racing on COVID hold, a harness player in the Race Book Saturday was practising for the tournament by getting the hang of other harness tracks. Great idea!
Click to enlarge.
DO THE DOWNS

Want highlights for the next 10 days? Click calendar.
What tracks are racing in April? Find out here.
What are today’s $$$ carryovers? See them here.
Download 2021 LIVE RACING SCHEDULE here.


NEW HPI REWARDS AND BONUS PROGRAM
:
Do you have your new HPIbet account card that replaces the previous HPI card and the ASD Player Rewards card? Assiniboia Downs has joined the HPI rewards and bonus program and the new program began Monday, Feb. 1. See details here. If you haven't received your new card in the mail call 204-885-3330 (ext. 225) to check on the status.

ASSINIBOIA DOWNS IS OPEN DAILY FROM 9 AM - 9:45 PM
for VLTs, simulcast racing and dining. Mask-wearing is required.

OTB HOURS:
Pembina 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily; Central Hotel (Rookies) 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. except Sunday 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. NOTE: Canad Inns Windsor Park and Green Brier are only open to purchase programs from the kiosks and to make HPI deposits on self-serve terminals. Both casinos and Quest Inn remain closed.

DELICIOUS DINING CONTINUES AT ASD
with daily specials. Fridays feature a Top Sirloin Steak dinner for $24.95 and Saturdays its Certified Angus Prime Rib dinner also for $24.95. Dinners are served from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

GREEDY CORNER
:
Become a half-millionaire by hitting the Rainbow 6 at Gulfstream. Also, the jackpot pick-6 at Turf Paradise is at the $150K mark and Golden Gate Fields’ jackpot pick-6 has hit $100K.
$1 MILLION BATTLE OF THE GALS AT OAKLAWN SATURDAY

Monomoy Girl (left) faces Swiss Skydiver Saturday

MONOMOY GIRL
vs
"BEAST" SWISS SKYDIVER
in the Apple Blossom Handicap


It's a rematch of Breeders' Cup Distaff . . .
. . . when Swiss Skydiver stumbled and lost all chance

Described as a “beast” by her trainer, Kenneth McPeek, the 4-year-old filly, Swiss Skydiver, will be taking on one of the mightiest mares in the world, Monomoy Girl, in the six-horse $1 million Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap this Saturday at Oaklawn Park.

In their last confrontation in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, Swiss Skydiver stumbled at the start and lost all chance, allowing Monomoy Girl (14 wins in 16 starts) to dominate. Swiss Skydiver was a strong second choice in the race, given the fact she won the Preakness Stakes, beating the future Horse of the Year, Authentic.

The Apple Blossom holds special memories for Manitobans because Manitoba’s super mare, Escape Clause, lost that prestigious stakes race by a mere nose to Midnight Bisou two years ago. It was the pinnacle achievement of a Manitoba-bred horse anywhere at any time.

The Apple Blossom is one of two $1 million races scheduled for Oaklawn this Saturday; the other is the Oaklawn Handicap for the best horses on the grounds.
April is “I never play that track” challenge month.
What track are you playing for the first time?
ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY

"I knew it"
Racing writer predicted the duel that resulted in Arkansas Derby upset

I lost count on the number of times Winnipeg Free Press racing columnist George Williams told me on Saturday how sure he was that the overwhelming 1-5 favourite in the Arkansas Derby, Concert Tour, would be beaten. He told me the colt would be used up dueling with Caddo River whom he predicted would bounce back from a fifth-place finish behind Concert Tour in their previous encounter in Oaklawn’s Rebel Stakes.

Bang on. Super Stock at 12-1 overtook the tiring Concert Tour who finished third and Caddo River who finished second.

“This was my most exciting day at the races in years,” Williams said after cashing the superfecta and other bets because his prediction came true. “I was thinking about this race long and hard.”

Concert Tour’s loss serves to intensify the drama leading up to the Kentucky Derby two weeks from this Saturday. No horse has really grabbed the bit to say “I’m much the best.” The likely favourite, Essential Quality, who has gone unbeaten in four starts, worked hard to beat Highly Motivated by a neck in the Blue Grass. Is Rock Your World, winner of the Santa Anita Derby the “now” horse?

Let’s see what horse George’s gut comes up with.

*       *       *
What colts ran the fastest in prep races?
(Equibase speed figures of 105 and over highlighted in yellow)

CHURCHILL’S MEET LEADING TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY
BEGINS SATURDAY, APRIL 24 AT 5 PM CT

SURPRISING QUOTE: “It’s rare that a trainer stat causes me to bet a specific horse.”--Andy Serling, respected New York racing analyst, in the book Cashing Big on Racing’s Biggest Days.
 
WIN A TON IN '21: Congrats if you capitalized on Santa's speed bias

I know. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. Which goes for horse players, too. In this space last week, The Insider led you to “water,” telling you that speed guru Andy Beyer made a small fortune capitalizing on track biases (“My $50,000 Year at the Races”). But did you “drink” when told that Santa Anita’s races are biased toward early speed?

Six of Santa’s nine races on Saturday were won by speedballs including 16-1 Lambeau in race 8 that helped the “I won bigger” group cash a pick-5 that paid $6,747. The first four races of the card, in fact, were won by front-runners. Yes, it was that simple. Will the bias continue? Are you truly ready to drink from the fortune fountain?
THE WEEK THAT WAS

Rob MacLennan
Big Apple beckons
FORMER ASD PADDOCK HOST LANDS JOB AT NEW YORK TRACKS: Rob MacLennan, ASD’s former paddock host who went on to work at Century Downs and Century Mile in Alberta (lately as race secretary and harness racing announcer), now is on his way to the big time in New York where he landed a job with the New York Racing Association (NYRA) tracks which include Aqueduct and Belmont in New York City and Saratoga in upstate New York.

His job starts this Saturday, he told The Insider. I'll start as a racing official for the first bit. But duties are taking entries, hustling races and horses, putting together the card. I'll have a race-day duty but I'm not sure what yet.” His ASD followers wish him well.

“I WON BIGGER” PLAYERS COLLECT $120 FOR EACH $20 SHARE: Santa Anita continues to deliver wins to the “I won bigger” betting group. Players earned $120 per $20 share Saturday when Santa’s late pick-5 paid $6,747, thanks to two longshot winners the group added to their ticket. The 20-1 winner of Leg 1 had recently had a “sneaky sharp workout” according to the track’s clocker’s report. And the 16-1 winner in Leg 4 was a front-runner on a track that has been favouring speedballs. Oh yes, the Big Win means the group banks its second Bacon Reward Day to be enjoyed when in-person group play resumes at the track. Can we bank another Bacon Day this Saturday?

LEADING ASD TRAINER WINS STAKES AT FONNER AFTER SHREWD CLAIM: After a shrewd $5,000 claim in Texas by his horse owner client, Henry S. Witt, Jr., trainer Jerry Gourneau--ASD’s leading trainer last year--won his first stakes race at this season’s Fonner Park, Nebraska meet on Saturday with Shades of Victory ($13.20). The 7-year-old gray gelding won the $20,950 Dowd Mile Stakes. It was one of two wins on Saturday for Gourneau who had five starters that day.

HASTINGS TO RACE SAME TWO EVENINGS AS ASD:
Hastings Park in Vancouver will race Monday and Tuesday evenings opposite races from Assiniboia Downs. The Hastings meet opens Monday, May 3, continues the following Monday, then races on Monday, May 17 and Tuesday, May 18 which are the first two days of the ASD meet. Hastings’ post time is 7 p.m. central; ASD races go at 7:30 p.m. Hastings will continue thereafter on Mondays and Tuesdays while ASD will race on a Monday to Wednesday schedule.

DRONE DRAMA IN THE WORKS?
Indiana Grand race track in Indiana started its 2021 meet Tuesday with a new feature--drone views of races. It’s something that’s under consideration, too, for Assiniboia Downs says CEO Darren Dunn.
THE BEST OF BOB by Bob Gates: Remembering the Richardson family

Who was "Papa Rich?" Most racetrackers will be quick to recognize the name. This week Bob remembers the Richardson family of Don and Betty and their children Allen, Carren and Debbie and how the family's legacy lives on through Carren's loving husband Terry Wedge, their son Darren and his young family. Click here. (First published in August 2020.)
  DATES TO CIRCLE
  • Tonight: Annual Sovereign Awards presentation to top Canadian horses and horse people--primarily from Woodbine. Jockey Edgar Zenteno who rode at ASD and Century Mile is a finalist for leading apprentice rider. Winnipeg photographer Rusty Barton is also a finalist for his photo “The Race Goes on a Year Without Fans” (at right). Watch online here at 6 p.m. CT. See list of finalists here.
  • This Saturday: Two $1 million stakes races at Oaklawn Park: the Apple Blossom Handicap and the Oaklawn Handicap.
  • Saturday, April 24: Player’s Choice handicapping tournament; first day of Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Derby meet begins at 5 p.m.
  • Friday, April 30 : Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. First post 9:30 a.m.
  • Saturday, May 1: Kentucky Derby at Churchill. First post 9:30 a.m.
  • Monday, May 17: ASD live racing begins
 

 
109 years ago today, at 2:20 a.m., race horse Fleet Strudel
went down in the Titanic with his loving, wealthy playboy owner,
Baron Ignatz von Gluckbogen, at his side
 

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Ph (204) 885.3330 • Fax (204) 831.5348

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