[caption id="attachment_13802" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] One of Carl Anderson's four Gold Cup wins at ASD. Secret Cipher. August 28, 1983.[/caption] by Bob Gates Carl Anderson was only 13 years old when Assiniboia Downs opened in 1958, but it didn't take him long to find his way to the Portage Avenue track. Right from the "get-go" young…
Read more
The Great Cull of ’62
[caption id="attachment_13427" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Royal Ghost. Three wins as a 10-year-old at the Downs in 1960. Double-digit payoffs every time. Bobby Stewart up.[/caption] by Bob Gates "Cull - to remove an inferior animal from a herd." The definition sounds sad, doesn't it? However, following Assiniboia Downs' 1962 race meet that is exactly what took place…
Read more
“Wow! What a Ride!” Remembering Todd Kabel’s Years at Assiniboia Downs
[caption id="attachment_13289" align="aligncenter" width="604"] Todd Kabel, Manitoba Derby winner Rough Catch and Eddie Russell on the cover of the 1990 ASD Media Guide.[/caption] 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…
Read more
A Racetracker’s Night Before Christmas
[caption id="attachment_12813" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] "Twas the night before Christmas..."[/caption] by Bob Gates Once again, it's that time of year. Yuletide carols echo through the frosty air, while multi-coloured lights twinkle everywhere. Yes folks, its Christmas! For the past 10 years I have been honoured to act as your ambassador to racing's past. To show my…
Read more
Smoky Cinder, Pawluks’ Pride – A Tribute
[caption id="attachment_12620" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Smoky Cinder wins the 1997 Canadian Derby.[/caption] by Bob Gates The last time I saw Smoky… he was an image in my rearview mirror. In September 2019, I had gone to the Pawluk farm for what I expected would be my final visit with Smoky Cinder. I had travelled to Woodlands…
Read more
I Dreamed of a Racetrack Heaven
[caption id="attachment_12182" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] Don't Cry for the Horses[/caption] by Bob Gates In the early 1950s Eddie Dean wrote a song that he said was inspired by a dream. Dean recorded "Hillbilly Heaven" in 1954 but it never really caught on. In 1961 Tex Ritter, father of the late TV actor John Ritter, released his…
Read more
The Derby Trial Returns to Assiniboia Downs
[caption id="attachment_12105" align="aligncenter" width="1080"] Fire N Desire wins the St. James-Assiniboia Handicap. July 11, 1969.[/caption] by Bob Gates Following an 11-year absence (2009 -2019) the Downs 2020 stakes race calendar features the return of the Derby Trial. Jack Hardy resurrected the Manitoba Derby in 1960 and since that time 60 Derbies have been run at…
Read more
Judge George W. Schilling: His Word was the Law on the Canadian Prairies for Three Decades
[caption id="attachment_11900" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Judge George Schilling (right) with Scotty Kennedy[/caption] by Bob Gates George Schilling was a senior racing official in Mexico, the United States and Canada and among the most respected figures in the sport. Schilling had a keen mind, was scrupulously honest and stern but fair. He was born on January 17,…
Read more
The Greatest Race That Never Was
[caption id="attachment_11846" align="alignnone" width="1080"] Man O' War. How good was he?[/caption] 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…
Read more
Assiniboia Downs Kicks Off Season #63 of Live Racing
Milestones & Memories Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at the 1970 Manitoba Centennial Derby by Bob Gates Welcome to the new "normal" as the Downs makes the final preparations to open for its inaugural "No Fans In The Stands" 2020 race meet. We have all lived the events of this spring and heaven knows they…
Read more