Pierre Lapin Wins Feature for Simpson, Pick-4 Pays $2,542.90, Two $15,000 Claims

paulnolan

by George Pierre Lapin came rolling home under Trevor Simpson to win the featured third race Wednesday at ASD on an evening when the betting pools were large and lucrative and two horses were claimed out of the same race for $15,000. Each. Claims over $10,000 are rare at ASD, let alone two out of [...]

Hazel Wright Sire Stakes was named after industry icon

BlueberryBlondewins2008HazelWrightSireStakes-640

by Bob Assiniboia Downs kicks off its stakes schedule this weekend with the 5th running of the Hazel Wright Sire Stakes for Manitoba-bred 3-year-old fillies on Saturday, June 2. At this point there isn’t a lot of “history” to the race itself. The winner of the inaugural running of the race in 2008 was Blueberry [...]

Rabbit Steals Spotlight on Saturday ASD card as $6 Horses Dominate

Hey! You're going the wrong way!

by George A rabbit scooted across the track in the sixth race on the turn for home Saturday night about two seconds before a stampede of horses got there. The field proceeded to play pinball with each other from that point on, resulting in a rare trainer claim of foul. Other than trainer Roger Hansen [...]

Jamaican Jockey Champion Trevor Simpson Live at ASD for So Many Reasons

Jockey Trevor Simpson with Refund Status at ASD

by George Trevor Simpson continued to demonstrate why he was a 5-time champion in Jamaica last night at ASD with a wire-to-wire win on Meshuguna in the first race for trainer Bev Hamilton, and the longshots finally got rolling in the sixth race, culminating with a $2,597.10 Triactor in the last. Simpson showcased a different [...]

The Phenom Looks Tough, Route Races Begin Today

The Phenom with trainer Wade Rarick

by Rob Friday’s first marks the beginning of two turn races at ASD in 2012, and the 5-horse affair going 7 ½-furlongs for $2,500 claimers appears to be wide open. Meshuguna on the rail was competitive in the route championship series at Portland Meadows this winter; trainer Beverly Hamilton is 2-for-2 in the money this [...]

Polo Park, “America’s finest racing plant”

Polo Park Post Parade circa 1950

by Bob Polo Park, the “father” in our family tree analogy, was a 6 furlong oval that opened on June 12, 1925. R. James Speers was given credit for building Polo Park, but he was not the driving force behind the idea to build the west-end track. Rather, he came to rescue the group that [...]

Balooga Bull Delivers Under Pressure to Stay Undefeated on Victoria Day, New Jock Simpson Impresses

Jockey Trevor Simpson ASD

by George Reigning Horse of the Year Balooga Bull delivered when it counted on Victoria Day at ASD to keep his perfect record intact, and in the process helped jockey Paul Nolan score a hat trick. Secondarily impressive on the card was 5-time Jamaican jockey champion Trevor Simpson, who scored his first win of what [...]

Reeves Jr. and Nolan continue jockey battle at ASD on Victoria Day, Balooga Bull makes 3-year-old debut

Robert Reeves Jr. and Tim Gardiner ASD

by George Robert Reeves Jr. and Paul Nolan continue their battle atop the jockey standings today at Assiniboia Downs on Victoria Day Monday and 2011 Horse of the Year Balooga Bull makes his 3-year-old debut in the third race against five rivals. First Post is 1 p.m. The “Bull” is fast — one of the [...]

Bet the Gray Horses in the Mud

Tyler Hansen with Lucky Bites May 18, 2012 Assinboia Downs

by George “Bet the longest shot on the board in a 5-horse field and bet the gray horses in the mud.” Things that grandfather used to say, that only seemed to come true after you’d brushed them off loudly as old wives tales in front of everyone at the track who would listen. The rains [...]

Bodemeister the pick in 137th Preakness, One longshot for logical live card

2012 Preakness Stakes

by Rob Baltimore, Maryland — home of the Orioles, the Ravens and Pimlico Race Course. Pimlico is a tight track with a long stretch and a history as rich as any track in the country. Seabiscuit put away War Admiral on this very track, Secretariat ran the unofficial fastest Preakness ever, and Afleet Alex got [...]