Record-breaking race season is half-done

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/07/2020 (1972 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

How time flies. Half of the most unusual and record-breaking race meet in Assiniboia Downs’ 63-year history is now in the record books.

The major highlights have been:

• Betting has soared through the roof, thanks to online wagering and the track being first in Canada and among the first in the world to figure out how to offer spectator-less racing in these coronavirus times. More than $4.1 million was bet on a seven-race card last week that also saw a pool of $3.1 million for a wager in which players selected five winners in a row.

• Hundreds of local would-be race-goers discovered watching and wagering on races online instead — and likely found themselves cashing more tickets if they watched the ASD Live program featuring a trio of race analysts before the races, airing at 6:45 p.m. each night on MTS Channel 179 or 180 or at ASDowns.com

• Suddenly, Edmonton became Winnipeg’s sister city in the horse racing world with jockeys travelling between the two cities because the usual complement of jockeys from Barbados and Jamaica have been unable to come to Canada. With ASD races running from Monday to Wednesday, jockeys are able to fly to Century Mile in Edmonton to ride on Friday and Sunday.

• With social distancing and mask-wearing in place, winner’s circle pictures look rather bizarre and are sure to become curiosities years down the road.

• Antonio Whitehall, ASD’s co-leading jockey in 2018, had almost a perfect day, winning five of six races and losing the other race by a mere nose. He’s proving his mettle at Century Mile in Edmonton as well, finishing first or second in almost half the 27 races he’s ridden in (as of this writing).

• On the trainer side, Jerry Gourneau brought some four-dozen fit horses to the track and has dominated the standings with more than double the wins of the runner-up, Tom Gardipy, Jr., who won the trainer title last year.  Gourneau’s horses finished one-two-three in a race last week. Call that a “statement race.”

• Payoffs in stakes races have been a bonanza for race-players who look beyond the favourites. In fact, veteran players can’t recall the last time there were so many big upsets in the richest races at the track. Boxcar prices prevailed for half of the first eight major stakes races: Honour Rules won the Frank Arnason Sire Stakes and paid $55.10; Kickalittlebooty won the Chantilly and paid $34.40; Dazzling Gold won the Hazel Wright Sire Stakes and paid $28.40; and Christmas Dance won the Jack Hardy and paid $16.40.

Did you cash one of those? Will the trend continue?

Remember, while spectator-less racing continues in the open-air grandstand and on the outdoor tarmac, you can watch and wager on live racing Monday to Wednesday at 7:30 in the Terrace Dining Room (reservations required), in the Race Book in the Clubhouse and online at HPIbet.com.

Only half the live race season is left.