They’re (almost) off and running

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/05/2023 (1209 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

And they’re off! Oops, sorry, we broke through the gate!

They’re not quite off yet, but they will be in two days, and dreams will spring from the starting gate the same way they always have since June 10, 1958, at Assiniboia Downs.

The 66^th season of live horse racing goes to post at Assiniboia Downs on Victoria Day, Monday May 22, at 7:30 p.m. with 52 horses in seven races, followed by 50 more frisky equines in the same number of races on Tuesday evening.

The first two weeks of the 50-day meeting will feature live racing on Monday and Tuesday, which then switches to Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday until the final week of the meet on September 18 and 19.

“We are so excited to launch our new season against the backdrop of the 75th anniversary of our signature race, the Manitoba Derby,” said Assiniboia Downs CEO Darren Dunn. “We have also embraced technology upgrades that will see the introduction of free AI assisted horse handicapping on the Dark Horse Bets App, and GPS tracking of our live races, with rich graphic additions to our broadcast.

“Add in our proud association with the historic Manito Ahbee Festival and Indian Horse Relay Racing on Victoria Day afternoon before the evening races and we can’t draw up a better game plan to set the stage for a great season of live racing. We hope Manitobans will enjoy “lake life” on the weekends and then “Do The Downs” Monday through Wednesday.

“When combined with community-based strategies such as Family Fun Night Mondays in July and August or the return of the RCMP Musical Ride and the Summer of Sound electronic dance festival, we believe we have something for everyone this season.”

The $125,000 Manitoba Derby presented by Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries on Monday, Aug. 7, will attract even more attention this year from top North American trainers such as four-time winner Robertino Diodoro, as part of the new $550,000 Western Canadian Triple Crown Derby Series.

The lucrative new series includes the $125,000 Manitoba Derby, the $200,000 Canadian Derby at Century Mile in Edmonton on Aug. 26, and the $125,000 B.C. Derby at Hashtags Park in Vancouver on Sept. 16. Should any horse win all three races, the owner will receive a $100,000 cash bonus, in addition to the purse money won along the way.

The big guns are all back in town for this season at the Downs, including four-time leading trainer Jerry Gourneau, who has won the training title four of the past five years, and six-time leading trainer Tom Gardipy, Jr. The Indigenous involvement in Assiniboia Downs has always been strong, but the fact that the local training title has been won by these two Indigenous trainers for eight consecutive years is outstanding, and one of the main reasons they were both inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame this past winter.

Also returning off a strong 2022 season with large stables are trainers Jared Brown, Shelley Brown, Wendy Anderson, Mike Nault, Lise Pruitt, and Devon Gittens, any of whom could give Gourneau and Gardipy a battle for the title if they can get on a roll.

Reigning leading rider Jorge Carreno also arrived in town this week looking to defend his back-to-back titles in 2021-2022, and he was seen looking wistfully at a photo of six-time riding champ Bobby Stewart in the kitchen. Carreno could be here for the long haul, and he’s definitely the jock to beat after riding at the tough Sunray Park in New Mexico this past winter.

Former leading riders Antonio Whitehall, Chavion Chow and Prayven Badrie have been getting on horses in the morning here for over a month now, as have veterans Renaldo Cumberbatch, Stanley Chadee, Jr. and Neville Stephenson, among others, and they will all get their share of good mounts early in the meeting in an effort to wrest the title from Carreno.

There is a strong horse inventory on the grounds right now, with more expected to arrive in June, and fans may notice a higher quality in the runners they’re betting on this year. Owners, trainers and breeders all voted with their wallets this past winter and showed their continuing confidence in Assiniboia Downs, investing in better horses with hopes of winning a share of the excellent purses available.

Walking through the backstretch Friday morning and looking at some of the classy new steeds was a real pleasure, and as always in the spring, everyone was excited and jovial about their winning chances, even 80-year-old trainer Doug Mustard, who has been racing at Assiniboia Downs since 1958, and he said he was okay with getting his photo taken, “as long as it doesn’t run in the obituaries.”

And off we go into 2023!