by Bob Gates The August 1, 2016 Manitoba Derby will be one I never forget, and forever remember, as bittersweet. The inclement weather created a dream track if you were a mudder, but it was a less than ideal day for the Manitoba Jockey Club, which was hoping to draw a record crowd. In the…
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And the Oscar goes to…
by Bob Gates It's Oscar time folks and this week we recognize some of Assiniboia Downs' finest equine performances. Who in their right mind would even attempt to cross this minefield? Yours truly of course, and why not? I've never claimed to be of sound mind, or body for that matter. Even so, where do…
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A Tale of Two Wolves for 2016 Opening Day at ASD
[caption id="attachment_5124" align="aligncenter" width="780"] One of three winners for Bernie "Longshot" Howland on Opening Day 1971.[/caption] by Bob Gates The 2016 live racing season kicks off on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 8, as has become our custom at Assiniboia Downs, and have I got a story for you. It goes like this: An old Cherokee…
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For the Love of Racing, Those Were the Days…
[caption id="attachment_4427" align="alignright" width="270"] On the tarmac at ASD after the races, in the "old" days.[/caption] by Bob With less than a handful of live racing dates left, the end of the 2015 season at Assiniboia Downs is almost upon us. It has been a challenging year, like others recently, but that seems to be…
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Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays! Wife, daughter, cat and the other woman!
[caption id="attachment_4164" align="alignright" width="270"] Bobby Stewart scores 1st win of career aboard Royal Ghost. 1960.[/caption] by Bob The month of June has special significance for me. Four of the most important women in my life celebrate birthdays in the month of "leaves and roses," my wife, Kathy, our daughter, Deena, the cat, Kopy Kat and…
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ASD Opening Day 2015! How about a little history!
[caption id="attachment_4082" align="alignright" width="270"] Balancing Dancer wins on opening day May 3, 1985. Jacques Desautels up.[/caption] by Bob Season #58 is upon us and our majestic four-legged friends go to post this Sunday, May 10th at 1:30. It's Mother's Day of course, and as has become a tradition, the Downs kicks off the 2015 race…
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Curtain drops on live “Season of Promise”
[caption id="attachment_4052" align="alignright" width="270"] Nuts In May. August 11, 1974. Final day of the meet.[/caption] by Bob The horse population wasn't what we had hoped, and as a result we saw shorter fields, but the season still featured some fantastic highlights. On the female side of the ledger Go Go Lolo proved herself to be…
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“Spud” Murphy and old Joe Geary, a man and his horse, the greatest and purest love
[caption id="attachment_3957" align="alignright" width="270"] Harold "Spud" Murphy[/caption] by Bob It's not likely many will remember the name Harold “Spud” Murphy. Those who do will probably associate it with his horse Brother Leo, who won the Manitoba Derby in 1963, but this week's trip back in time centers around the first horse Spud ever owned, Joe…
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Gone but not forgotten, two promising apprentices from 1967
[caption id="attachment_3910" align="alignright" width="270"] Bobbie Dimma aboard Norway House. June 29, 1968.[/caption] by Bob This week we remember two promising young apprentices who got their start at Assiniboia Downs in the 1960s, Bobbie Dimma and Vernon Sayler. Most of us are familiar with "Bobbie". Yes, that's how his name appeared on his birth certificate, Bobbie…
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George Howell, son of a blacksmith, spent two decades training for the “House”
[caption id="attachment_3867" align="alignright" width="270"] George Victor Howell[/caption] by Bob "He was a real gentleman." That's how people who knew the man that trained horses and ran Jack Hardy's JY Farm in St. Adolphe for the better part of 20 years, described George Victor Howell. The Howell family hailed from Saskatchewan, but made their home in…
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