[caption id="attachment_16726" align="alignright" width="800"] Jockey Paul Nolan and Balooga Bull after winning the 2014 Gold Cup.[/caption] by Bob Gates There's a common thread that links books written to honour champions of the past and our humble blog stories. Both remember special equines from the early days of the Winnipeg racing scene who have long since…
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The History of the Manitoba Derby in Photos
[caption id="attachment_16501" align="alignright" width="1735"] Royal Frolic with Larry Bird up after winning the 45th running of the Manitoba Derby. August 2, 1993.[/caption] by Bob Gates A few weeks ago we tried something different. The traditional blog story was replaced by an array of photos complete with captions and it turns out, you liked it! With…
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M&M’s: Sweet Treats for the Soul
[caption id="attachment_15472" align="alignright" width="1000"] Coherence. August 29, 1959. Trainer Gary Danelson's first win.[/caption] by Bob Gates Well, now that we have a couple of days of racing under our belt, let's celebrate with some M&M's. Nope, not the multi-coloured, button-shaped chocolates which are the flagship product of Mars, Incorporated. We're talking about milestones and memories…
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Celebrating 64 Years of the Gold Cup
[caption id="attachment_14051" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Pool to Market sets new track record in 1967 Gold Cup at Assiniboia Downs[/caption] by Bob Gates One of the many challenges facing Jack Hardy when he opened Assiniboia Downs in 1958 was to establish races that would grow into annual contests steeped in tradition. In the first year of…
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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…
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Historic Winnipeg Futurity highlights final weekend of “Live” racing at ASD
by Bob Gates This year's Winnipeg Futurity marks the 90th running of the prestigious race for 2-year-olds, which makes it the oldest continuously run race in western Canada. Yeah, I know, you'll hear a lot about the recent Canadian Derby's 90th running, but those numbers include the first 11 years of the Manitoba Derby. Fact…
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Manitoba Derby: Runs to Remember
[caption id="attachment_8859" align="alignright" width="1024"] Rough Catch wins 1989 Manitoba Derby! A winner's circle to remember for sure![/caption] 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…
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A little Magic and a lot of Bull
[caption id="attachment_7804" align="alignnone" width="780"] Balooga Bull defeats archrival Magic D 'Oro in the 2014 Gold Cup at ASD.[/caption] by Bob Gates with George Williams photos The Downs' historic 60th Season of thoroughbred racing winds up this Sunday, September 10 and what a year! I've been doing these blog stories for the past six seasons of…
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Balooga Bull becomes first horse in history to win three consecutive Gold Cups at Assiniboia Downs
[caption id="attachment_4035" align="alignright" width="270"] Balooga Bull powers away to win $50,000 Gold Cup Saturday night. Paul Nolan up.[/caption] by George Balooga Bull became the first horse in the history of Assiniboia Downs to win three straight Gold Cups on Saturday night and he did it the hard way, forcing a suicidal pace before powering away…
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Balooga Bull, Edison, pushed to defeat game rivals in Wheat City, Harry Jeffrey Stakes
[caption id="attachment_3634" align="alignright" width="270"] Balooga Bull gets a pat from jockey Paul Nolan.[/caption] by George Balooga Bull brought his "A" game for the Wheat City Stakes, Jet Again did the same in the Harry Jeffrey Stakes, and Paul Nolan won half of the eight races in front of a large appreciative crowd on Wednesday night…
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