[caption id="attachment_14112" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] The 2021 season at ASD is nearing the finish line.[/caption] by Bob Gates "The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things: Of shoes - and ships - and sealing-wax - Of cabbages and kings - And why the sea is boiling hot -…
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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…
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The Early History of the R. J. Speers Stakes. 1926-1956
[caption id="attachment_10277" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Fort Garry wins the 1948 R. J. Speers at Polo Park.[/caption] by Bob Gates On Saturday, June 29 "The Speers" celebrates its 60th running, but what most don’t realize is that there is more than 90 years of history behind the race that honours Robert James Speers, the "Father of Thoroughbred…
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Robert James Speers Stakes – The Tradition Continues!
[caption id="attachment_4368" align="alignright" width="270"] 1960 Speers Handicap presentation ceremony (L to R) E. Johanson, Scotty Kennedy, Gene Pederson. Scotty's daughter Joan in front.[/caption] by Bob Sixty years ago this past July 19, Robert James Speers, the "Father of Thoroughbred Horse Racing on the Canadian Prairies" died as a result of a massive heart attack at…
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