|
|
Who ya gonna cheer for
(and hug) this Sunday?
|
|
|
|
Big smiles
among this motley group of mascots is hiding an alleged plot among
some of them to prevent Mick E. Moose (shown leaping across the finish line below) from winning his fourth title
in Sunday's Great Mascot Race. See BULLETIN below.
|
|
|
|
|
BULLETIN: Race plot uncovered? Rumour has it that a group of mascots
known as the "three-toed waddlers" have been trying to seduce
organizers of Sunday's mascot race (through excessive hugging) into
changing the rules of the race so free-legged mascots such as Mick
E. Moose must race first in a relay team, instead of
last, to undercut their ability to make a late charge. Also, it is
alleged the distance of the race has been increased. Is the plot true?
Come out Sunday and see. Nine relay teams consisting of three mascots will be competing.
Silly season is upon
us, folks! Symbolized by the wacky Mascot Race this Sunday,
this is your last long weekend of summer to break loose and go a little
crazy--helped along, of course, by five fat days of racing-oriented
action. Five days? Sure, the fun begins tomorrow,
Friday, with a chance to pocket a slice of the $20,000 in the Downs'
pick-7 pool (see my two prime picks below) and party 'til you drop at Roadshow Sound's sizzling social after the
races--and concludes Tuesday evening with a rapid-tongued auctioneer
pitching the parentage of cute skittish yearlings in the show ring at
the annual horse sale in the grandstand.
And,
in between, there are teasers and pleasers to suit every taste ....
• This is your
last weekend to catch classic summer racing from Saratoga
and Del Mar. Saratoga's meet
closes Monday, Del Mar ends
Wednesday.
• The richest,
fastest pacers in North America vie for
$540,000 in purse money
in the Breeders' Crown Pace Saturday night at Mohawk
Raceway, headlining
a huge night of harness racing that runs in tandem with
Assiniboia Downs
live racing.
• Only four more weekends to qualify for the poker finale. On Sunday, Sept. 23
someone will be sent to Las Vegas to compete
in the World Series of Poker.
Play Friday and Saturday after live racing and aim to
finish first or second.
• Five big stakes events at the Downs: the Jack Hardy on Saturday, R. J Speers
and North Dakota Futurity on Sunday and 2-year-olds race on
holiday
Monday--one race for fillies, the other for colts and
geldings. Bring your VIP Party Card Saturday or Sunday to
be stamped to qualify for season-ending VIP Party.
• Sunday and
Monday are the last chances this summer for kids to cavort
with farm animals and go for free pony rides! Includes
face-painting, bouncy
gym and more.
• Sunday is
100.7 Hank FM Super Family Fun Day with the added bonus of
goodie bags for the first 200 kids and the Great Mascot
Race. Have you ever
shaken the three-fingered hand of a
cartoon character?
• The popular
game, Deal or No Deal, goes Labour Day Monday
with generous
cash prizes. To get into the draw, enter the "show parlay
challenge."
• Distribution
of free lucky numbers that are worth up to $200 cash in weekly
draws all through September. Ask for one at Guest Services Sunday
and Monday!
|
|
|
Come to the
auction on Tuesday!
|
And
for a unique experience, take in Tuesday evening's horse auction
starting at 7 p.m. Come and
watch! It's fun. A delicious buffet starts at 5:30
p.m.
for only $9.99. The auction will be held on the main floor of the
grandstand. Pick up a free
"Yearling Sale" booklet at the Downs for a
preview. Maybe a few of you have
a hankering to form a horse-owner partnership and chase a dream? To inspect the horses that will be
heading to the auction block Tuesday, go to the stables behind the
grandstand after live racing on Labour Day
Monday.
MARTY THE MAGICIAN: Longshot win foils pick-7 players
First
he did it with 34-1 Weather
Warning in the $100,000 Manitoba Lotteries Derby, then he did it again in the Harry Jeffrey Stakes
Sunday with 17-1 Barak. Both were longshot horses, given little
chance to win, but anything trainer Marty Drexler touches at the Downs these days
magically comes through for him--even though he professed afterward to being at a loss for words. "I don't know what
I thought. He showed some talent in the mornings and galloped out
strongly. Lasix
didn't hurt." Ho-hum,
another visit to the Winners' Circle.
It was a lesson on 33 per cent trainers that Ossie and Ron, two stalwart Downs players,
won't soon forget. If the
second-place horse in that race had won, they would have pocketed about
$18,000 in pick-7 winnings on a ticket they played for only $48. Instead, the partners had to settle
for $527 for six out of seven.
But they, along with everyone else, get another chance to play
tomorrow. Magical Marty has a
10-1 horse in the seventh and a 3-1 in the eighth. Beware!
PLAYING THE PICK-7? I have two keys.
Tomorrow's
pick-7 at the Downs, with an
estimated pool of $20,000, looks winnable. I have two keys: Diamond
Spike (#6) in race two and Minnesotamadman (#7) in race four.
Their stellar pace numbers appear to indicate they will get a
comfortable lead and shouldn't look back. Minnesotamadman appears to have been
racing against tougher company at Canterbury in Minnesota and is
making his first start at the Downs. His trainer, Jamie Ness, also has a solid contender in race eight, Pouco Moleque
(#1), also from Canterbury. The pick-7
wager begins in race two, scheduled to leave the gates at approximately 7:28
p.m.
tomorrow. Go get 'em!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "We
race everywhere but I can't think of a better track to race at (than
Assiniboia Downs). This is a track we consider home."-- Stewart Hyman of Shyman Farms after his Marty Drexler-trained
Barak
won the Harry Jeffrey Stakes at 17-1 last Sunday.
POKER COUNTDOWN: Just 8 poker-playing days left until
the grande finale Sunday, Sept. 23 that will
send someone to Las
Vegas and the World  Series of Poker at the Rio Casino. Play free at the Downs
every Friday and Saturday after the races. Last Friday's winners included Fred Bruenger
($100), Ron Young ($50)
and Wayne Hatt
($25). Saturday's
winners were Dave Ironside ($100), Justin Sharpe ($50) and Brian McShane ($25). Top two each day will get a seat in
the Sept. 23 finale. (Want a seat at the tables? Play the show parlay
challenge.)
FUN 'N' GAME$: Have you seen the honour roll?
Have you seen the Show
Parlay Challenge Honour Roll posted on
the main floor at the Downs? Can you knock off the leading parlayer, Charles
Scotlend?
It's worth $100 and trophy at season's end if you do! Even getting into the Top 10 is quite
an achievement. Don't forget to
play the free game every live race day and, by all means, play a parlay
at the windows. Amaze yourself
at how meagre bucks can be turned into big
bucks making the least-risky bet at the track!
Last
weekend's best parlayers: At the track Friday, blogger Glen
Sirkis turned his $10 into $151 by
letting his money ride in the show pool in races three to five.
Playing at the Dakota
Hotel
OTB
Saturday Phyllis Merko turned her $10 into $41.85. Other top
winners last week:
•
Friday's Insta-Frame Fantastic Fan: Ken
Diawol's name was drawn
from show parlay entrants to make a Winners' Circle
presentation and get
a framed photo and jockey's autographed picture marking the
special occasion.
•
First and worst: Rob
Clake was sole predictor Sunday of the
first and last
place finishers in Saratoga's sixth race
and was awarded $50. Play
"first and
worst" free every live race day.
•
Who's winning the newspaper selector's race? At the top of the stretch
in the 70-day race, George
Williams
of the Free
Press
has a commanding
20-length lead over the Sun's Bill
Bilous 161 to 141.
VEGAS BOUND: Bitchok's bankroll grows the most
John Bitchok spent $1 to download extra speed analysis data on
Downs races to help him compete in the month-end Viva Las Vegas Horseplayer
Challenge at the Downs last Saturday.
It was $1 well-spent. He
increased his $32 bankroll to $75.40 to outplay 47 other competitors
and win a trip to Las Vegas and free
entry into the Coast Casinos $1 million Horseplayer World Series in
January. Dave Taylor Jr. finished second with a closing bankroll of
$69.10 and Bruce Greenhill was
third with $68.30. Contestants made imaginary $2 win/place bets on one
horse in each Downs race. Your
last opportunity to earn the trip will be Saturday, Sept. 22. Pre-qualify by predicting winners on
any Saturday program starting this Saturday.
READERS' VIEWS ON POLY: "Get used to it"
Ivan: Poly, Cushion, Tapeta?
They are here to stay. Get used to them. When handicappers begin to
understand that Poly is closer to turf racing, winning becomes easier.
Jockeys have to adapt. Go back to dirt? Do you really think that the
eight tracks that are using an artificial surface will chuck it all up?
Seems to me a bit like King Canute trying to
stop the tide."
-- Alex Sidor
Ivan:
Yes,
synthetic tracks should be barred from hosting the Breeders' Cup. -- George Campbell
HORSEPLAY TIP OF THE WEEK:
Look for game &
claims
As the live season winds down and you pursue the
burgeoning pick-7 pool, look for horses showing gameness, regardless of
class, and look for horses claimed by a good barn. Many players were shocked last
Sunday when a key in their pick-7, Buck A Shot in the fifth, which had
superior pace and speed ratings, finished fifth. The winning horse was a horse that had
been claimed two races previously and had just gamely won a race at a
lower class level.
NUTRITIOUSLY, DELICIOUSLY GREEK That's
the Taste the World theme tonight in the all-you-can-eat buffet in the
Terrace Dining Room from 5
to 8 p.m.
for $14.95. Menu.
Next
Thurday's theme: A fan favourite--Hawaiian.
NEW WINNING LUCKY NUMBER$ for this week: Did you pick
up a free Lucky Number card for August when you were at the track on Derby
weekend? If the number on your
card matches one of these numbers, you're a winner! $25 winner: 7895 $10
winners: 8259, 8776 $5 winners:
6465, 5698, 6239, 8254, 8269. Claim
your prize at www.assiniboiadowns.com See
additional lucky numbers worth up to $200 posted weekly on the Lucky
Numbers page on the website. Next Lucky
Number distribution days:
This Sunday, Sept. 2 and Labour Day Monday, Sept. 3.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Get lost!
The giant maze depicting dueling horses carved into a
15-acre corn field opens a week tomorrow at Boonstra
Farms near Stonewall.
Two-for-one tickets are available at Guest Services at the Downs
for $7.
|
