DARE TO BE DIFFERENT tonight!   Stray from the ordinary at 7 p.m. by picking up unusual betting angles from two pros—James Quinn and Mark Cramer.  Topic: 

ANOTHER BIG WIN! Bricklayer John Whitehill scoops $500 in the "5-Times" game in the casino-style VLT lounge. An added perk tonight is "Roll to Win."

Contrarian thinking and hidden form patterns.  Finish Line banquet room.  Free to attend. Goodies served.  (Classes will be held every second Thursday.)

EAT TILL IT HURTS tonight! (Well, not really. Just until you feel--you know--comfortably satisfied.)  Tonight marks the return of the popular all-you-can-eat Thursday Theme Night buffets for only $14.95.  Tonight's theme:  Texas BBQ.  Phone 885-3330 ext. 0 to reserve.

ENJOY THE EXTRA PERKS in the VLT lounge starting tonight. New exciting wrinkles will be featured throughout the month. Tonight's perk:  Roll to win.  Practice rolling on your living room rug before you leave. Oops, it's not THAT kind of rolling.

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Goose-watchers: It's prediction time, again!  On what day will the big flock of Canada geese in the Assiniboia Downs infield head south?  You loved last year's contest so much, I decided to have an encore edition--this year with bigger and better prizes and more fun.  Not only will the winner receive a glitzier prize package, the top 50 predictors--yes, 50--will receive a

When will they leave?

souvenir Canada goose key chain and--get this--the key chain will have a key attached.  And if that key opens a treasure chest containing $500, the money is yours!  Who knew goose-watching could be this much fun!

And this year you can keep an eye on the geese from your computer! ASD's trackside livecam will be aimed at the infield 24 hours day. Go to the website (ASDowns.com) and click on the TRACKSIDE GOOSE CAM bar in the centre of the page. (If it's not up, it will be. For some reason this morning it was cutting out every 15 minutes without apparent cause. Hopefully, by the time you read this those bugs will have  been worked out.)  

Okay, here's the deal:

PREDICTION:  Predict the day the Canada geese will suddenly be gone from the Downs' infield. Email your prediction by MIDNIGHT FRIDAY, OCT. 9 (a week from tomorrow) to theinsider@assiniboiadowns.com. One entrant per person, please. Last year, they were gone on Nov. 8. 

PRIZE:   The winning entrant (exact date or closest without going over) gets $50 cash PLUS a beautiful keepsake book on geese with a congratulatory note. Plus copious bragging rights 

WHAT IF THERE'S A TIE?  This could be the most fun of all.  The tied entrants will be invited to participate in a game of rock/paper/scissors until a winner has been determined.  Consolation gifts will be awarded to the runners-up during that competition.

IN THE TOP 50?  OPEN THE TREASURE CHEST AND $500 IS YOURS!  If your entry is among the top 50 predictions without going over, you will receive an "I love Canada geese" souvenir key chain--with an important key.  On a proscribed day, you will be invited to try your key in a treasure chest containing $500. Open the treasure chest and the money is yours!  Even if you zonk out, you will still receive a consolation $10 voucher to bet the horses. You'll also find out on that day which key opens the treasure chest. (Hope it's yours!)

Well, enough about geese!  This is, after all, a horse racing column.  In the meantime, good luck and enjoy the goose watch, my fowl friends!

"SURPRISING" SUPPORT FOR STEWARDS

Positive comments outnumber negative

The three local racing stewards received a lot more mail than usual (likely the result of their email address being published in The Insider) and it was about 60 per cent favourable, 40 per cent unfavourable, said Larry Huber, executive director of the Manitoba Horse Racing Commission.  He said he was surprised by the result since people are more prone to be negative than positive when they send a comment.  He said the commission received 15 to 18 letters compared to usually one or two.

The stewards were harshly condemned in some quarters for their disqualifications and the inconsistency of their decisions but the positive comments showed this is not an across-the-board sentiment--and perhaps was a backlash against the fierce attacks from a few. Huber said he recognized only one name, that of a horseman, but the other names were unfamiliar so he thought they were general fans. Those who criticized the stewards' decisions, Huber said, did so in very strong language.

At this point, though, he said no one's job is safe because the commission is conducting a top to bottom look at all aspects of what the commission does and what changes, if any, need to be made.  This assessment should be done by early January, he said.  Several of the stewards' controversial disqualifications including at least one of the double-disqualifications will be reviewed by other Canadian racing officials at their annual convention in Moncton, New Brunswick at the end of October.  It will be interesting to hear what they have to say.   

URGENT!  REGISTER FOR $5,000 SHOW CONTEST

Begins Saturday at Santa Anita.  Do what Roberts did!

As you may recall, Red River College math prof Jim Roberts did us all proud last fall by winning the free show contest at Hollywood Park, beating out 2,800 entrants from all over North America to win $5,000 U.S.  Now here's YOUR chance to do the same thing in Santa Anita's ShowVivor contest.  But hurry, you must register before Saturday's races at Santa Anita.

It's totally free to enter.  Prize money is $5,000 with $3,000 being awarded to the winner and $2,000 to runners-up.  You simply pick one show horse each day horses race at Santa Anita and  try to outlast everybody else who is entered.  To register now and be ready to go on Saturday, go to www.oaktreeracing.com  Note the horse graphic (displayed here) in the left column of the screen.

Will you be the next local hero?  Do it!

QUICK BITS:   Right or wrong, bettors get paid

Talk about generous!  Belmont Park in New York decided to fork out $82,500 to pay players for superfecta tickets on last Thursday's ninth race they didn't really have to pay.  Race officials posted the wrong fourth-place finisher in a superfecta result but,

INAUGURAL WINNER   Congratulations to Art Solvason for winning the inaugural edition of "5-Alive" Friday which required entrants to pick three show horses, a place horse and a winner in five races at Remington Park. Solvason, supervisor at the Canoe Club golf course, received $100 but was kicking himself for not playing his selections at the windows. His winner paid $16! Thirty people entered the contest, two of whom were drawn to participate in betting sprees! Get into the game yourself tomorrow!

later, when they discovered their error, they started to pay for the correct result as well.  Their regulations had only required them to pay for the first "official" result even though it was wrong. Those holding 8-14-5-10 (wrong) received $1,072  Those holding 8-14-5-13 (right) received $800.  A placing judge apologized for the error by him and the other two placing judges.  The jockey on #13 had his foot over the middle of the "3," making the number appear to be "10."  The mistake was discovered later when it was shown a distant finisher had the real #10 saddle-cloth number.

WHAT A SHARKING FINISH!  The 9th race at Mohawk Monday was a hunch player's delight.  Two 3-year-old gelding harness horses had "shark" in their names:  Part Shark and Serious Shark.  Part Shark went to the lead in the race and the 19-1 longshot, Serious Shark, sat just off him until near the wire when, of course, the horse with the serious shark name put away the part shark.  Serious Shark paid $40 to win and the exactor paid a sharkingly big $162.  Nice catch for bettors who went trolling for non-favourites.  

NORTHLANDS DROPS DAYS:  Local horsemen received not-so-nice news when they reached Northlands Park to continue racing into the fall.  The Edmonton track cancelled its final seven days of racing which means racing ends Oct. 9.

SPEAKING OF NORTHLANDS:  Two top horses in Clayton Gray's barn raced there recently.  Spying Eyes finished third in a $13,000 claiming event and Celtic Thane, who finished third in the Manitoba Derby, finished fifth in a $32,000 optional claiming race.  He apparently has been having trouble with the tight turns but, with more experience on the bullring, Celtic should be ready for a better effort in his final race there, said Gray's son, Allan.

"APPLICANT" APPEAL POSTPONED:  It could be months before the owners of Applicant, the runaway winner of the $50,000 Buffalo Stakes Sept. 19, get to appeal the disqualification of their horse.  Applicant had been set down to fifth after the stewards ruled he had interfered with two other horses early in the race.  The appeal was to have been heard last Saturday but was postponed after David Miles, chairman of the Manitoba Horse Racing Commission, withdrew because he is the lawyer for one of Applicant's owners and he did not want any perception of bias in the case. Manitoba Jockey Club president Harvey Warner is also one of the owners.  Now the province must appoint someone else to sit with the other two commissioners. The official winner was There's A Place.  The winner's share of the purse is $30,000.

UNIVERSAL REMEDY:  It seems exercise is the universal remedy for most ills.  The latest:  Even brisk walking several times a week is enough to reduce the chance of getting prostate cancer by two-thirds.  How about an exercise bike and a treadmill on the plaza in the Clubhouse opposite the TVs?   I'd be first in line!

CONTEST UPDATES:  Best handicapper still up for grabs

IMPORTANT RACES THIS SUNDAY on the road to the Breeders' Cup:   The winners of each of these races Sunday will be guaranteed a berth in the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Santa Anita in November. (It's called the "Win and You're In" Challenge.) Obviously, these races will be well worth watching:  

Sunday morning--the Qatar Prix de l'Abbaye, a 5f turf sprint from Longchamp Race Course in France.  Racing from Longchamp begins at 8:30 a.m. The feature is the $6-million Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Watch and bet races at the Downs or on Shaw 87 or MTS 179-180.  (Not available at off-track locations.)

Sunday afternoon--two races for 2-year-olds from Belmont Park (the Juvenile Turf and the Juvenile Fillies Turf) and two from Santa Anita (the Juvenile and the Juvenile Fillies).

BUY-IN POKER CONTINUES EACH SUNDAY:  In the Clubhouse at 1 p.m.  $50 buy-in.  Last week's winner won $332, second received $200 and third place won $133.  Hosted by the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. Watch NFL football on nearby screens.

NEXT INSIDER:  Why is track announcer Darren Dunn hugging this tree which is more than 10-feet around?  What does it have to do with racing?  Plenty.  Find out what this is all about next week.  It's a column you don't want to miss.