Jockey going for 3,000 at Downs

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/05/2011 (5626 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Perry WINTERS plans to have the summer of his life at Assiniboia Downs.

As the 2011 live thoroughbred racing season opens on Sunday at 1 p.m., the 48-year-old jockey from Camrose, Alta., has brought his racing dreams to Winnipeg.

 

Winters, who was the seven-time leading jockey in Alberta in the late 1980s and early 1990s, needs 41 more wins to reach the milestone 3,000 mark.

In his 31st year of racing, Winters said he knows Assiniboia Downs will provide the perfect atmosphere to go after some wins.

“I really hope I can do it. I’ve got a good agent and I think he’s going to be able to get me on some live horses. If he does that, I know I can win some races,” Winters said. “That (3,000 wins) was my goal. I want to do that before I retire. Hopefully, if my body holds up, I could ride three or four more years at least.”

Winters won 24 races last year in Alberta but was in a larger jockey colony. At Assiniboia Downs he will be part of a 20-jockey group.

He’ll have some competition in Janine Stianson, who finished third last season in the jockey standings with 67 wins, Tyrone Nelson who was fourth with 51 wins and Rohan Singh, a three-time leading jockey (2000, 2001, 2005) who was seventh last year with 35 wins.

One jockey Winters won’t have to worry about this season is Larren Delorme, last year’s second-place finisher with 68 wins.

The Downs announced Delorme has been banned from the track for one year after an undisclosed incident involving race track security.

Darren Dunn, the Downs’ CEO and track announcer, said he’d prefer racing fans come to the track but those who cannot will now able to tap into a whole new interactive experience through the Internet.

Dunn said the Downs has teamed up with www.HorsePlayerInteractive.com which is Canada’s first and largest legal on-line wagering service.

“It’s based out of Woodbine in Toronto. We signed onto their service just over a month ago and it’s now coast-to-coast, so it’s really about distribution for us,” Dunn said, noting fans should go to www.ASDowns.com.

“Anywhere in Manitoba that you have Internet access, you can now watch and wager on Assiniboia Downs. Churchill to Emerson, North to South, East to West, that’s huge. You can watch and wager on over 150 race tracks.”

On Sunday, Mother’s Day, the track will kick off its 54th season of live racing, which will run through Sept. 25. The regular schedule features races on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays with a post time of 7 p.m. On Sundays and holidays, post times are 1 p.m.

On Sunday, fans will be able to participate in draws for Mother’s Day gifts including hotel stays and spa packages. For children, there will be a petting farm, bouncy gym, pony rides and face-painting.

A new promotion will see Downs race analyst Kirt Contois take a pie in the face from a lucky fan if his best-bet horse doesn’t win. The pie-wielding fan will be chosen from fans who bet on his horse and enter their non-winning tickets in the draw.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca

 

Drive away a winner in a new car

BIG promotional giveaway for the year — a new 2011 Chrysler 200. In conjunction with Winnipeg Dodge Chrysler Jeep in the Pointe West Automall, fans can play a simple contest each live race day and become eligible to win the car, which will be given away on the last day of live racing. Visiting the dealership in advance and getting a unique contest card can triple one’s chance of winning.

Over 700 horses are set to go for the season, including the return of 2010 Horse of the Year, locally owned and trained Cherokee’s Gold. Also running this season will be the top Manitoba-bred horse from 2010, Golden Stripes, a mare owned by Phillip Kives of K-Tel International fame.

— Gary Lawless