by Bob Gates Mays Relic came to Jack and Yvette Hardy's J. Y. Stable as a 5-year-old gelding by Bandit out of Georgia May, by War Relic. By the way, War Relic just happened to be the son of Man O' War. Their trainer, George Howell claimed the chestnut in January 1966...
by Bob Gates What do you get when you combine seven St. Boniface school teachers, $1,500 and a desire for fun and adventure? Back in May 1970 you'd get Hoarse Stable and a four-year-old thoroughbred called Windsor Moon. Who remembers him? This dark bay gelding was the...
by Bob Gates This week's title may be a little cryptic, but there are many of you who will know that our flashback in time is about the man who was Assiniboia Downs track superintendant from 1978 to 1999, Keith Trenholm. "Super" is such an appropriate title, because...
by Bob Gates Imagine, a blog dedicated to all things historical, and this week we travel all the way back in time to last year's Derby. Murray Duncan and the Estate of Garylle Bruce Stewart's Plentiful won the 69th running of the Manitoba Derby in 2017, and that’s our...
by Bob Gates It’s been 40 years since Overskate and Robin Platts spanked five innocent foes in 30th running of the Manitoba Derby on September 9, 1978. Going into the Derby, Overskate was considered the best 3-year-old in Canada. He was voted the best 2-year-old in...
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:...
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 the 70th running of what was once called "The Run for the Tartn." This week's blog post provides an...
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...
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 along comes horseman, Nathan "Nick" Block....
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...