Love live racing? Here’s what to do on Monday
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/05/2021 (750 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Love live, local racing?
Then this coming Mon., May 17 at 6:45 p.m., go to ASDowns.com.
Click on ‘ASD Live’ at the top of the page and that link will take you to a trio of racing analysts discussing the opening night of Assiniboia Downs’ 64th season of racing, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m.
And, to be ready to wager on those races online, go to HPIbet.com any time to quickly and easily set up an account. Then you’ll be ready to enjoy and participate in 50 days of live racing. In its first week, racing will be conducted Monday and Tuesday and will then continue on a Monday to Wednesday schedule until the meet ends in mid-September.
Post time every day is 7:30 p.m.Will the track attract more than $1 million in daily wagering as it did almost every day last year?
Will you be able to land a big score simply with 20-cent wagers? Will Jerry Gourneau continue to dominate the trainer standings as he did last year when he won the title for the second time?Racing is always a thrill, even when you participate from home.
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So what should you expect this season? A raft of new jockeys, for one thing. Half of the 14 initial jockeys are new to the colony. They come from Toronto, Barbados, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the United States.
Two-time leading rider Antonio Whitehall is back, as is the only female rider, Kayla Pizzaro, whose brother has been riding in Toronto. Whitehall won 25 per cent of his 300 races last year. Last year’s leading trainer, Jerry Gourneau from North Dakota, is likely to have the biggest stable, with just under 50 horses, and five-time leading trainer Tom Gardipy, Jr., who hails from Saskatchewan, is likely to have about 40.
Among hundreds of horses will be about 60 to 70 youngsters who are yet to race. One of those horses, Diamond Digger, is in the photo that accompanies this column. Trainer Michael Nault bought him a Kentucky auction last fall.
The most celebrated horse will be Real Grace, who won the Grade 3 Canadian Derby in Edmonton last fall. That was the race that gave hope and joy to his trainer, Shelley Brown, who had been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. And how is she doing this season? Remarkably, well. She said the new drug Ibrance appears to be slowing down cancer growth and her stable is likely to grow to 30 horses.So what will you be doing at 6:45 p.m. Monday? Need I say more?
Oh yes, note that the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes from Maryland, goes this Sat., May 15 afternoon. Watch and wager in your HPIbet account.
Ivan Bigg
At the Races
Ivan Bigg is a railbird and handicapper at Assiniboia Downs.