GETTING READY FOR THE BIG SHOW WHICH OPENS TONIGHT: The most popular Christmas craft show in the city called Scattered Seeds opens tonight at 5 p.m. at the Downs with 100 exhibitors on three levels. Look for special lunch and dinner buffets in the Terrace Dining room during the show.  Simulcast racing, poker and VLT fun continue as usual in the Clubhouse.

 

The joint is jumpin'!  Three floors at Assiniboia Downs have been taken over by 100 exhibitors in the Scattered Seeds Christmas craft show which begins tonight at 5 p.m. and continues through Sunday. The smells and sounds permeating the whole facility are WONDERFUL!  As soon as you step inside the main foyer, you'll be swept away by the festive atmosphere. If you haven't been to the Downs since live racing, this is a great reason to return. 

HOURS:  Tonight:  5 p.m. to 9 p.m.  Friday and Saturday:  10 a.m. - 9 p.m.  Sunday: 12 noon to 5 p.m. 

EATS:  Special lunch and dinner buffets are featured in the Terrace Dining Room throughout the show. Open to everybody!  Southern Fried Chicken, salad bar and so much more. Soup and salad bar is $6.95.  The full lunch buffet served from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. is $8.95. The full dinner buffet which starts at 4:30 p.m. is $12.95.  

Add to that (1) great racing action in the Race Book in the Clubhouse (highlighted by the Breeders' Crown from Woodbine Saturday evening), (2) unlimited free poker Friday and Saturday night, (3) buy-in poker Sunday afternoon and (4) extra cash games in the VLT lounge (including Ladies' Night Friday), and you might just want to roll your camper trailer into the parking lot and make a weekend of it!

On a separate note, with just two weeks until the biggest racing event of the year, the Breeders' Cup, here's a special deal to help you get ready for the occasion.

$50 GETS YOU $60

Open a betting account and get $10 on 'Cup Day

If you've not signed up yet for T.A.B. (telephone account betting),  here's a special deal to get you ready for the biggest racing event of the year--the Breeders' Cup two weeks from tomorrow.  Sign up now at the track or at any off-track betting location with a $50 deposit and $10 will be added to your account on Breeders' Cup Day.  This deal ends Thursday,

Ready to take your telephone bets at 885-9800. Get a $10 bonus when you open an account.

Nov. 5.  After you've opened your account, what about holding a betting party?  Tune in to Shaw 87 or MTS 179-180 any day or night and challenge friends to pick winners by observing the body language of horses during the post parades. 

Speaking of which--NEXT THURSDAY'S HORSEPLAYER CLASS WILL TELL YOU WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A HORSE'S BODY LANGUAGE!  Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey leads the discussion on this timely topic.  Free to attend--next Thursday, 7 p.m. in the lower level Finish Line banquet hall.  I know a couple players who have made a lot of money betting on horses doing nothing more than observing their body language.  Should be a great workshop.

DO YOU ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT?  Yes, I can hear the whining.  "What about us bettors who already have an account?"  Well, there's $10 in it for you, too, but you'll have to wait until the next Insider to find out how to have the freebie money added to your account.

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HORSEPLAY  Every day 11 am - 11 pm.  Today's tracks Play in the Race Book in free private carrels! Off-track, at home (Shaw 87, MTS 179-180). How to play better   Open a betting account

LOCAL HORSES ON THE ROAD:  A win in the desert   Remember Northern Promise?  The 3-year-old filly raced eight times at the Downs earlier this year, winning once and finishing in the money many times.  Well, she's now down in Phoenix, the winter home of Assiniboia trainer Don Schnell and she won a $3,500 claiming race for fillies and mares at Turf Paradise Monday, paying $7.00.  Riding?  Hot ASD jock Vicky Baze.  By the way, she and husband Gary plan to return to ride at the Downs next spring.

QUICK BITS:  Lethal Heat to race in TWO 'Cup races?

It's hard to imagine a horse racing two days in a row but that's what the trainer of Lethal Heat is contemplating for the Breeders' Cup.  Barry Abrams is toying with the idea of racing Lethal Heat, perhaps the third best filly in North America (after Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta) in the Ladies' Classic on Friday and in the tricky 6 1/2 down-the-hill Turf Sprint on Saturday.  She's won a stakes race on that track already which

WINNER of "5-ALIVE:" Retired electrician George Newbury picked up $150 Friday night for predicting all five legs of "5-Alive" at Remington Park. (He also won at poker! See below.) Contest and betting sprees continue every Friday at 7 p.m.

gives her a better chance than horses that haven't raced on that unique track.

LONGEST PRICE EVER:  A record was established at Woodbine Saturday when the longest shot in a field of eight fillies and mares won the 54-year-old 1 1/4-mile $1 million E. P. Taylor Stakes on the turf. Lahaleeb, a 3-year-old filly paid an unprecedented $90.70.  That gave her a guaranteed berth in the Breeders' Cup championships but the owners are passing it up because they don't want to pony up $180,000 to get in, since she hadn't been nominated.  Meanwhile, the winner of the $2 million Pattison Canadian International last Saturday, Champs Elysees, is also guaranteed a spot but his connections have said they are retiring him to stud.

STEEPLECHASE RACING CANCELLED:  The first-ever wagering on steepelchase racing was cancelled late Friday when the New Jersey Racing Commission said the race organizers had not satisfied the state's pari-mutuel regulations.

OMINOUS SIGNS AT SANTA:  What's happening at Santa Anita?  A one-day carryover in a pick-6 pool last week was a mere $47,000, almost half of what one-day carryovers used to be and pool-watchers are telling me their win handle has been dropping noticeably lately as well.  Can this all be attributed to recession and dissatisfaction with its artificial surface or is there more to it?  Meanwhile, Saratoga announced it had such a good meet (handle down less than two per cent compared to the 12 per cent national average in August) that it is extending its 2010 meet by four days, making it 40 days.  Unlike Santa, that New York track didn't tamper with tradition--great horses racing on dirt.    

THEY NAMED ME WHAT?  Paperscissorsrock.  That's the name of a harness horse racing at Rideau Carleton Raceway in Ottawa.  Speaking of which, if there's a tie in my "When will the geese leave?" contest, the tie will be broken in a game of rock/paper/scissors or, if you wish, paper/scissors/rock.

EQUINESE:  Is this code for sex?   This is how the Daily Racing Form referred to horse-breeding in a recent article: "All stallions at Claiborne (Farms) will have their 2010 books limited to 100 mares."  I'll let you translate that into language non-horse people could understand.

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HOLD 'EM Unlimited free play Fri. & Sat. Two games--7:30 & 10:30 pm--just show up! Prizes -- $50. Plus 3 Vegas trips on the line. $50 buy-in Sundays:  1 p.m.

CONGRATS TO WINNERS!   Last weekend's unlimited free-roll poker:  Friday: Car salesman Dave Brockhill and retired electrician George Newbury

Dave Brockhill Won first free-roll game Friday

(who also won the "5-Alive" jackpot--see above). Saturday: Math teacher Rick Zaretsky and Rick Dow.   Last Sunday's buy-in poker:  A husband and wife finished first and second!  Rochelle Feuillatre ($273) and Glen Feuillatre ($182).

How to earn points to get into finales for Vegas trips:  I told you in last week's Insider about the three trips to Las Vegas that are up for grabs during the finales in late February. Now here's how many points you get, depending on your finish in the free games.  The TOP EIGHT FINISHERS earn points.  The winner gets 5 points and the next seven runners-up get 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1.   The more points you accumulate, the bigger your bankroll will be in the finales.  Get a refresher on the finales here.   

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SPIN ZONE VLT ACTION  9 a.m. to 2 a.m. DAILY BONUS FUN:  Yahtzee, lucky numbers, more! What's happening when?  See October. FRIDAY IS LADIES' NIGHT!  Win a $300 spa package courtesy of Finger & Toes Day Spa and Fabutan Suntan Studio.

 

FRIDAY LADIES' NIGHT WINNER:    Freda Broughton.  Besides extra-special spa treatment--courtesy of Finger and Toes Day Spa and Fabutan--each winner also receives $50 in "ladies" gifts.  Just come to the VLT lounge Friday night between 5 and 9 p.m. to participate.

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GOT MEMORIES?  History writer wants to hear from you

In my recent column about the Whittier Park tree I told you local writer Bob Gates is writing a history of horse racing in Manitoba.  Well, he'd like to hear from those of you who have great stories to tell about Assiniboia Downs.  As he put it: "It could be a horse, jockey, trainer, a special race or just some event that was memorable - basically anything goes."  Please email me at theinsider@assiniboiadowns.com and I'll pass your comments on to him.  You can help make his book as complete as possible!  C'mon, I know a lot of you have good ones!  Bob will be highly appreciative.  Wouldn't it be neat seeing your memories become part of history?

UPCOMING EVENTS:  It's coronation time Saturday night

One of the biggest harness race nights of the year, the Breeders' Crown, happens Saturday night at 6:30 at Woodbine.  Top 2-and 3-year-old pacers and trotters compete in eight rich races to see who will wear the crown.  Usually the pick-6 is very playable that night because at least a few of the races will be fairly predictable. 

Why not kick off the night with a special $12.95 buffet that's being offered during the Scattered Seeds weekend show.  On the thoroughbred racing side, choose from Lone Star, Remington, Oklahoma, Charles Town, Mountaineer, Lone Star and Australia.  Saturday night is actually Sunday afternoon Down Under and IT'S SPRING! 

You gotta try the pumpkin-flavoured fudge at Scattered Seeds!

(And save a teenie piece for me, please!)