Balroop, Whitehall neck and neck for 2026 Downs riding title

Jockeys Antonio Whitehall and Sven Balroop are waging a great battle for the 2026 riding title at Assiniboia Downs, and both will be aboard some very good horses in next week’s five stakes races. Neither jockey will have a mount in the wiener dog races.

Whitehall rode the longshot of the week to victory in Tuesday’s sixth race, giving Not True a dream trip along the rail behind a duel for trainer Marion Johnston, slipping through on the turn and scoring at 31-1. The Manitoba-bred filly by Nonios paid $64.80, $19.10 and $7.40 across the board, and made her backers jump for joy.

“I saw what was developing up front and adjusted pretty quick,” said Whitehall. “That’s why I dove to the rail and just waited. All the stars aligned.”

Whitehall added another victory Wednesday in the fourth race with Regal Rumor for trainer Mike Nault, putting him one win ahead of Balroop.

Ontario Racing grants more to standardbred, thoroughbred and quarter-horse racing

TORONTO - Ontario Racing is giving the province's standardbred industry a significant boost.

Standardbred racing will receive over $14 million in additional money as part of the Ontario government's boost in funding to horse racing in the province.

Last month, the province earmarked an additional $35 million annually to the industry over the next five years. However, it tasked Ontario Racing with deciding the breakdown between the three racing disciplines (thoroughbred, standardbred and quarter-horse), which it unveiled Thursday.

Ontario Racing governs the breeding, scheduling, and promotion of horse racing across Ontario. It is recognized by the provincial government as the industry's official authority.

Manitoba-bred Brachetto stakes his claim as King’s Plate favourite

For the first time in memory, a Manitoba-bred could be one of the favourites for Canada’s most prestigious horse race, the $1-million King’s Plate for three-year-olds, to be run Aug. 15 at Woodbine in Ontario.

Last Saturday, Brachetto, bred by longtime Manitoba owner-breeder Dr. Ross McKague, won the $150,000 Marine Stakes (G3) as the longest shot on the board, beating two heavily favoured rivals and vaulting himself into the Plate favourite conversation for the mile-and-a-quarter classic.

Brachetto is a son of multiple Grade 1 winner Vekoma, who stands for $100,000 at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky. He is out of McKague’s mare Colorino, who earned more than $200,000 on the track and has now produced nine winners from nine foals.

McKague has owned a racehorse for 52 years. He has bred them for 50. He has a barn’s worth of horses that could have been somebody, and a lifetime of reasons why they weren’t. Last Saturday afternoon at Woodbine, standing on a patch of grass under the trees in the winner’s enclosure of a graded stakes for the first time in his life, the 79-year-old finally got the one that was.

Elston Gunnn beats the odds as first stakes winner for trainer Birdwell

The big guns won three of the four $50,000 stakes races at Assiniboia Downs this week, but a young trainer named Tena Birdwell shipped in from Canterbury and shook up the Manitoba Derby rankings with an impressive victory in the Golden Boy Stakes.

Birdwell saddled Elston Gunnn for the Golden Boy, and he didn’t get much respect from the punters, who sent him off at odds of 19-1. Owned by Joseph Schumer, the three-year-old gelding by Hollywood Derby (G1) winner Mo Town looked like a turf horse on paper, coming in off second- and third-place finishes going a mile on the turf at Canterbury.

He was also facing the leading Manitoba Derby candidates, including the locally undefeated Prime Suspect and recent Corporate Shuffle Overnight Stakes-winner Truly Unbelievable, conditioned by star trainers Steve Keplin, Jr., and Robertino Diodoro.

Birdwell, who turned 31 the day before she spoke to the Free Press, has been training only since 2019. A horsewoman from the start, she came up through barrel racing, 4-H and three-day eventing before horse racing took over her life. “Right out of high school I went to the racetrack and started galloping,” she said. “Kind of took off from there.” Elston Gunnn was the first stakes winner of her career.

Longshot pays off for couple five decades into horse racing

How much do you get back if you bet $20 win-place on a 39-1 shot? Former Hastings Park trainer Brian Phillips knows.

The 78-year-old conditioner saddled his only horse, Nu Soup for Baby, to drill the field into submission in the third race on Wednesday at the Downs, and led all the wheelbarrow bettors straight to the cashing windows.

Making just his third start of the year under new jockey Kerron Khelawan, who also moved his tack here from Hastings Park, Nu Soup for Baby went right to the front from the start and despite heavy pressure from outside rivals, he had lots left when they turned for home, opening up into the stretch and coasting home to win by 1 1/4-lengths over yet another former Hastings Park horse, Pay My Way.

“I got back $1,100,” said Phillips. “I only had $47 in my HPIBet account, so I bet twenty-twenty on him.”

Maryland exercises its right to match an $85 million offer to keep Preakness branding rights

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Thursday the state will exercise its right of first refusal to match Churchill Downs Incorporated’s $85 million offer for the intellectual property of the Preakness Stakes and the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes.

Churchill Downs Inc., which runs the Kentucky Derby to open the Triple Crown, announced in April it was buying the branding rights to the second leg, as well as the race for fillies the precedes it by a day, from 1/ST Racing with the intent of licensing it back to Maryland annually to stage the races.

"The Preakness Stakes is more than just a race: It is a cornerstone of Maryland’s history, culture, and economy," Moore said in a statement. "This decision secures a vital asset for our state, allows Maryland to shape its horse racing destiny, and by leveraging the Preakness’s iconic status and partnering with industry experts to enhance the fan experience, preserve Maryland’s position as a key power player in the Triple Crown for generations to come.”

Moore said no general fund tax dollars would be used, with the $85 million cost instead being funded by a tax-exempt revenue bond issuance, which would be paid back by money generated by the race through ticketing, wagering and sponsorships. The state expected the fee paid to Churchill Downs Inc. would escalate over time.

Pruitt comes back after hitting the dirt, scores first double of career

It took a Tuesday tornado warning and a face-to-face meeting with the dirt to make the stars align for jockey Ciera Pruitt on Wednesday night at the Downs, but when they did, she finally got her first lifetime win for her mother.

The 23-year-old daughter of trainer Lise Pruitt and former top jockey Jerry Pruitt not only won for her mother, but also won another race earlier on the card for trainer Jason Homer, giving her two victories on the same card after 24 straight losses to start the season. And it couldn’t have happened on a better night — it was also her dad’s 75th birthday.

Pruitt got her first win of the season aboard Preacher’s Secret for Homer in race three, stalking a duel on the turn and rallying outside to win by 2 3/4 lengths after a perfect trip. That would be the exact opposite of what she got on her next mount in the fifth race, Neighneigh, who stumbled twice at the start and sent Pruitt flying hard into the dirt.

Lise Pruitt was in the barn area getting her horse ready for the sixth race when it happened and didn’t see it live.

Truly Unbelievable takes Round 1

Four-time Manitoba Derby-winning trainer Robertino Diodoro served notice that he has another one in his sights when he turned loose Truly Unbelievable on Tuesday night to take the measure of Classico in the $25,000 Corporate Shuffle Overnight Stakes. That was one of four stakes run this week, two of which were won by longshots.

Sent off as the second choice behind Classico, who was impressive in an allowance race win in his previous start, Truly Unbelievable duelled with his rival three-year-old to the stretch before drawing out under jockey Kimal Santo to win by 2½-lengths.

Shipped into the barn of local trainer Rick Wise from Sunland Park in New Mexico a week before the race, Truly Unbelievable had finished a well-beaten fifth in the $100,000 Riley Allison Derby at Sunland Park on Jan. 18, but appeared to be a different horse on Tuesday.

“That was a very tough race, and he had a rough trip,” said Diodoro, speaking from his barn in Texas. “We gave him some time off after that race to mature physically and mentally, and it appears to have done him some good.”

Raise a glass to My Kinda Delite

While the big guns were racking up wins at Assiniboia Downs this week with their expensive purchases, 83-year-old trainer Doug Mustard and his $3,000 Manitoba Yearling Sale purchase stole a little thunder with their own particular brand of wackiness.

Assiniboia Downs trainer pulls a card for the ages

IT was only a matter of time. And not much of it.

Five-time leading trainer Jerry Gourneau shot to the top of the trainer standings this week on the strength of a record-tying night Wednesday at Assiniboia Downs. Gourneau won five of the six races carded on Wednesday, tying a record for wins on a card by a trainer.

The record was set by Gilbert Ducharme on Oct. 9, 1985 and equalled by Ardell Sayler on May 10, 2014. Ducharme accomplished the feat on a 10-race card. Sayler did it in eight. Gourneau had six races to work with, and his winners weren’t all favourites.

Gourneau won the first race with Layla’s Song ($4.40), the second with Brooklyn Alley Cat ($11.70), the third with Girl From de Bayou ($4.50), and made it four in a row with Lexington River ($10.30). He then won the sixth race with Prints Money ($6.80).

Preakness this year is the most watched since 2021, NBC Sports says

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — NBC Sports said Tuesday that this year’s running of the Preakness Stakes was the most watched since 2021.

An average of 5.5 million viewers tuned in on NBC or Peacock on Saturday, with a peak audience of 7.1 million for the race itself won by Napoleon Solo. A social media post noted that NBA and Major League Baseball games promoted the 151st running of the race this time.

Ratings were up 22% from last year despite Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo not running and there being no chance at a horse sweeping all three legs of the Triple Crown. This was the third time in five years the Preakness took place without the Derby winner.

NBC said the Derby earlier this month was the most watched on record with an average of 19.6 million viewers. Audience peaked at 24.4 million, according to preliminary data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.

My Miss Mo holds on to win the Black-Eyed Susan by 1 3/4 lengths over Jumping the Gun

LAUREL, Md. (AP) — After she was scratched from the Kentucky Oaks, My Miss Mo had to wait a couple more weeks to shine.

It was worth it for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.

“It was the right decision,” he said. “This was a better spot for her.”

My Miss Mo won the Black-Eyed Susan on Friday at Laurel Park, holding off a spirited effort from Jumping the Gun to win the 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-old fillies that takes place a day before the Preakness.

Jockey Whitehall hot out of the gates

Jockey Antonio Whitehall and trainer Steve Keplin Jr. exploded out of the starting gate in the first week of the live racing season, and now Whitehall is going to have some tough decisions to make.

The three-time leading rider won impressively aboard two three-year-olds this week, both of which could be headed for the Manitoba Derby. Whitehall won the sixth race on Tuesday by 4 ¼-lengths aboard former Santa Anita runner Classico for trainer Mike Nault, and won the third race on Wednesday just as impressively by six lengths aboard former Oaklawn Park runner Prime Suspect for Keplin.

Whitehall declined to comment on which horse was better — for obvious reasons — and both could take slightly different paths to the $125,000 Manitoba Derby on Monday, Aug. 3. This should be fun to watch, as both horses appear to be loaded with talent.

Make sure to watch the replays on both horses, but especially on Prime Suspect, who looked like he was shot out of a cannon at the top of the stretch. Pay special attention to his action and watch how his legs devour the ground in the stretch. Imagine an excavator propelling itself forward at 40 m.p.h.

From backstretch to homestretch to grandstand, it takes a village to keep Assiniboia Downs up and running during race season

Sunrise is still 45 minutes away, but don’t tell that to the 12 horses inside Steve Keplin Jr.’s barn.

A flick of the light switch at 5 a.m. and, like clockwork, the magnificent animals rise in their stalls and poke their heads out, ready to begin their day.

It’s a big one, too. The start of the 2026 racing season has arrived at Assiniboia Downs, with the first of 50 race nights on tap.

Two of Keplin Jr.’s thoroughbreds — Ceepeegee and Steal Your Soul — are set to compete this evening. And the leading trainer from the 2025 campaign is hoping to pick up where he left off.

Laurel Park waited 114 years for the Preakness. It may be a farewell as much as a debut

LAUREL, Md. (AP) — The crowds that once packed Laurel Park dressed in their best to watch champions like Secretariat and Seabiscuit have long since disappeared. For one final weekend, they are coming back.

Grandstands that typically sit empty will again fill with patrons in tailored suits, flowing dresses and stylish hats as Laurel Park hosts the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. It will be the first time the track has hosted the race and is a final chapter of sorts, with racing expected to end next year before the property is converted into a training facility.

“It’s going to be a really special day,” said jockey Sheldon Russell, who will ride hometown horse Taj Mahal — trained by his wife, Brittany Russell — at the couple’s longtime home track. “It’s kind of sad because they’re going to get this moment in the spotlight on their way out.”

Founded in 1911, Laurel is the latest of many storied racetracks to close in recent decades as attendance dwindles and gambling increasingly moves online. To the people who still spend their days there, the loss goes beyond the betting window.