Outstanding start at Assiniboia Downs

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This article was published 26/05/2023 (867 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The live racing season kicked off with a packed awards ceremony, two million-dollar wagering handles and a pair of hat tricks, but we also lost one of the best jockeys in the history of Manitoba racing.

Fans flocked to the track on opening Monday night and along with the folks on the interwebs they pumped $1,097,250 into the wagering pools. It was even better for bettors on Tuesday evening when punters pounded the pools with another $1,265,765.

These are incredible numbers for a small track in the middle of North America, and fans have grown accustomed to what appears to be business as usual, but it has taken tons of work over a period of many years by ASD CEO Darren Dunn, Vice-President of Finance and Gaming Sharon Gulyas, and their executive team, to make it happen.

Kudos to the Downs’ team for its fabulous work, which not only allows bettors to punt with both hands without changing the odds, but that has also been the main driver behind the resurgence of the local breeding industry. Not only are horse people buying better broodmares, they’re also buying higher-class racehorses to compete locally, and more of them.

Manitoba horse people were honoured for their winning investments at the annual HBPA/CTHS Awards Celebration last Saturday, which was attended by one of the largest and best-dressed horsey crowds we’ve seen at the annual event.

The 2022 HBPA Horse of the Year award went to Itsthattime, owned by True North Thoroughbreds and trained by Mike Nault. The CTHS Manitoba-bred Horse of the Year award went to Hidden Grace, owned and bred by Cam Ziprick, Charles Fouillard and Barry Arnason.

Jerry Gourneau was honoured as the leading trainer of 2022, his fourth title in the past five years, and jockey Jorge Carreno was recognized for his second-straight leading rider title in 2022.

Owner-breeder Dr. Betty Hughes took home a boatload of awards including Breeder of the Year, Stallion of the Year (Vengeful Wildcat) and Broodmare of the Year, among others. Elite trainer Gary Danelson was honoured with the HBPA Manitoba Award of Distinction to the backdrop of a poignant video interview, in which he talked about his favourite horses and the many friends he has made at his “favourite track” since first arriving here in 1958.

Danelson and Itsthattime received the loudest cheers of the night from the merry crowd, and the mood was heightened even further when the MC asked how many of the people in attendance were “breeders” but forgot to use the word “horse,” which resulted in sheepish grins, knowing glances across the table, half-raised hands, and finally a hearty laugh.

“We weren’t sure whether to put our hands up or not,” said one guest. “We just looked to see what everyone else was doing and smiled.”

Back-to-back leading rider Carreno picked up where he left off when the races started on Monday night, winning the first race of the season, the Don Gray Memorial, aboard Market King for trainer Jared Brown and owners Ira J. Donald and Kane Kachur.

Carreno had an eventful two days with two wins and a fall from a horse stumbling coming out of the gate on Tuesday in the fourth race. He said he was happy and only “a little sore” the next day. It won’t take him long to recover, and he now has a target. Two-time leading ASD rider Antonio Whitehall won two races on Monday and scored a hat trick on Tuesday to take the early lead in the standings, while also helping trainer Lise Pruitt score a natural hat trick of her own on Tuesday.

Whitehall and Pruitt teamed up to win the second race on Tuesday with Pruitt’s favourite horse, Manitoba-bred Crowned Royal, and the fourth race aboard Big Nick. In between, Pruitt won the third race of the night with Chicago’s Gray, with Carreno up. Now in her fourth year as the main trainer for Arnason Farms, Pruitt conditioned 2022 CTHS Horse of the Year Hidden Grace, and continues to get the job done in fine fashion. Her three wins put her on the early lead in the trainer standings.

The jockey battle could be a good one this year, with Whitehall feeling his oats after a winter off in Barbados, and Carreno arriving fit from a winter of riding at Sunray Park in New Mexico. Also worth watching are two new arrivals from Alberta, Damario Bynoe and Sven Balroop. Bynoe won two races, and Balroop won his first race at Assiniboia Downs. He also looked good on a few other horses that ran well.

Local fans will be saddened to learn that Russell, Man., native and record-setting Assiniboia Downs jockey Irwin Driedger passed away after a battle with cancer last Saturday in Toronto at the age of 66. Inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2023, Driedger won three riding titles at Assiniboia Downs from 1977 to 1981 and set a new win record in all three seasons.

Driedger set the new single season record for wins by a jockey at the Downs in 1979 with 161 victories. He bettered that mark in 1980 with 180 victories, and in 1981 Driedger won an astonishing 214 races at Assiniboia Downs, a record that will never be broken. Driedger received the prestigious Sovereign Award as the Outstanding Jockey in Canada in 1981 for his accomplishments and was also honoured the same year with the Chris McCance Memorial Trophy as Manitoba’s Male Athlete of the Year.

Moving his tack to Ontario in the fall of 1981, Driedger went on to ride some of Canada’s top horses at Woodbine, Greenwood, and Fort Erie. The multiple graded stakes winning jockey rode numerous Sovereign Award winners including Liz’s Pride, Phoenix Factor, Classy ‘n Smart, In My Cap, Grey Classic and Imperial Choice during his career and compiled an overall record of 1,633-1,528-1,472 from 11,161 mounts for purse earnings of $14,676,512.

Driedger retired from riding in 1990 and went on to work twice for the Jockeys Benefit Association of Canada, and also as the Director of Thoroughbred Racing Surfaces at Woodbine, where he was instrumental in the installation of safety rails. Driedger received the 1998 Avelino Gomez Award, which is presented annually to a jockey who is Canadian-born, Canadian-raised, or a regular in the country for more than five years, who has made significant contributions to the sport.

During his time at the Jockeys Benefit Association of Canada, Driedger was a major force behind Canadian jockeys becoming the first in North America to wear safety vests.

Like the one Jorge Carreno was wearing, in the fourth race on Tuesday.