Okay, now can I get you both to smile?

Local race horses including last year's yearlings will soon begin training in the backstretch Equicizer facility which opens on Valentine's weekend. Opening day of the 65-day live meet is Mother's Day, May 10. Race schedule.

OPEN LETTER
from MJC president Harvey Warner

What's behind the schedule changes in live racing?

ALERT! New twists to tonight's "pick 'em" game! (1) Predict the winner in Race 7 tonight at Delta Downs and email me your answer for a chance at winning at least $20 in betting vouchers. (2) Predict the winners of BOTH Race 7 and 8 to give yourself a chance of winning another $20. Email your picks to theinsider@assiniboiadowns.com by 8:30 p.m. (Put your answers in the subject line.) NEW! DOUBLE YOUR PRIZE! See "New Twist" below.

ALERT! Attend tonight's free "Climb the Ladder" workshop at 7 p.m. in the Finish Line. It could be your ticket to Las Vegas. See "Vegas!" below.

ALERT! Sign up for this Saturday's Player's Choice horseplayer tournament. Deadline for entries is 9 p.m. tomorrow (Friday).

Super horse?
Watch Old Fashioned Feb. 16

Hang on to your hat! The next 12 days will be a whirlwind of racing drama and contest excitement at the Downs--culminating in the 2009 debut of a potential super horse on holiday Monday, Feb. 16. Yes, a beautiful grey colt by the name of Old Fashioned, unbeaten as a 2-year-old, is working up a storm for his first start of 2009, likely in the $250,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas on holiday Monday--Louis Riel Day. Will he be a top Kentucky Derby contender? We'll see. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start the dizzying array of action with tonight's valuable workshop .....

TONIGHT: Put Vegas in your future! Get a step closer to a free trip to Las Vegas! Come out to the Finish Line banquet room at 7 p.m. tonight to learn tournament-playing tricks. That could be your key to victory in a Downs tournament that

Enjoy free munchies at tonight's workshop
will earn you a trip to Las Vegas to participate in a mega-rich contest. Five such all-expenses-paid trips for two will be awarded later this year. Why shouldn't it be you? The workshop tonight will consist of top tournament specialists revealing their secrets in a DVD recording made at a horseplayer symposium held last year in Las Vegas. Free to attend. Coffee and chocolate dessert squares will be served. A discussion will follow, hosted by savvy racing enthusiast Everett Shade. Highly recommended! Also, meet local winners who will be heading to Las Vegas to play in the $1 million Horseplayer World Series at the Orleans Hotel & Casino next week. More.

TOMORROW NIGHT (FRIDAY): Free poker bonanza! Win $200 cash if you win a hand with a one-eyed jack and king! Also, $100 in betting vouchers to the game winner. Free to enter! How to get in. Also, play an exciting new game called "21!"

SATURDAY: Speed demons at Santa! Top California 3-year-olds compete this Saturday afternoon in stakes races at Santa Anita that could determine whether they're Kentucky Derby or Kentucky Oaks material. Pioneerof the Nile, one of the fastest horses at the track, is expected to dominate the $200,000 Robert Lewis Stakes at 1 1/16th and keep your eyes on Stardom Bound, the champion 2008 filly, in the $300,000 Las Virgenes Stakes at 1-mile. The Race Book in the Clubhouse is the place to experience the lively atmosphere surrounding these important races. Also, play the Magna Pick-5, the most exciting hour of racing that starts at 3:45 p.m.

SATURDAY CONTEST ACTION: Tourney fun! Sign up for Saturday's Player's Choice horseplayer tournament for prize money that starts at $500 and grows with the number of entries. Entry deadline: Friday 9 p.m.

Chantal Sutherland
in TV docu-drama

Celebrate Louis Riel Day at the races--Super Simulcast
Fun Day--on holiday Monday, Feb. 16

SATURDAY NIGHT: Jock exposé on TV! Watch a 12-part docu-drama on jockeys on the Animal Planet TV channel at 8 p.m. starting this Saturday night. If that channel isn't active on your TV, call your cable provider, Shaw or MTS, for instant boot-up. (That's what I did.) It only costs a few bucks a month. Canada's most famous female jockey, Chantal Sutherland, who is now competing with the best of the best at Santa Anita, is the first jockey featured this Saturday. Read news release here.

NEXT THURSDAY, FEB. 12: Future-bet the Derby! The first round of future-wagering on the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks (for fillies) begins next Thursday. It lasts until Sunday. This is your chance to bet a horse at long odds that could make you lots of money on Kentucky Derby day, May 2, if you are correct. Suggestion: Look for Old Fashioned among the entries. A special Daily Racing Form and program with the 3-year-old horses eligible for the Derby and Oaks will be available next Wednesday.

VALENTINE'S DAY SATURDAY, FEB. 14: Play Show Me the Roses! A $1,000 contest in which you pick show horses on Derby prep races begins on Valentine's Day. Prize money will be awarded to the last person standing and to the largest accumulator of mythical show money. Register now and play at the track, at OTB locations or online. Valentine's dinner: Book now for a special Valentine's feast in the Terrace Dining Room. Two can dine for $39.99. Menu. Reserve at 885-3330.

HOLIDAY MONDAY, FEB. 16: Super Simulcast Fun Day. What will you be doing on the new holiday--Louis Riel Day? As mentioned at the top of the column, the $250,000 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn on that holiday should be your first opportunity to see Old Fashioned, a horse that some are saying could be a super horse, destined for stardom in the Kentucky Derby. Contest action: Also, back by popular demand will be a Show Me the Money contest that earned high praise from players on Sunshine Millions Day in January. The object is to pick show horses in designated races. At least $500 in prize money is at stake: Half of it to the last person standing and the other half to the biggest accumulator of mythical show money. Merchandise draw: Featuring Oaklawn Park in Arkansas. Watch for food and beverage specials as well. This is also Presidents' Day in the U.S. so you know that top U.S. tracks will be in action.

NEW TWIST TO "PICK 'EM" CONTEST

Double your prize by being present at the draw!

If you enter my "pick 'em" contest and correctly predict (1) a winner in Race 7 at Delta Downs tonight and/or (2) winners of BOTH Race 7 and 8, you now have a chance of doubling the prize of $20 in betting vouchers available for each part of the contest. Last week, the prize was awarded to the first person to submit a correct entry. But this week, EVERYONE who submits a correct answer has an equal chance of winning because a draw will be made from all correct answers received. The draw will take place at about 9 p.m. Friday in the Clubhouse. The lucky persons whose entries are drawn for each part of the contest will be alerted as usual in the next Insider to pick up their $20 prizes. BUT HERE'S WHAT'S DIFFERENT: If you are present in the Clubhouse when the draw is made and your entry is drawn, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED to $40 which you will receive on the spot. How's that for a little extra bonus?

Just to summarize the contest rules: Email your answer(s) to theinsider@assiniboiadowns.com before 8:30 p.m. tonight. Only one entry per email address; one entry per family. Be sure to include your full name and mailing address in your email. You can watch Race 7 from Delta at 8:45 p.m. at home on Shaw cable 87 or MTS 179-180. Opening a telephone betting account and betting on your chosen horses is as easy as making a deposit at any off-track betting location.

LAST WEEK'S "PICK 'EM" WINNERS

Someone finally nails the triactor!

Congratulations to telemarketing customer rep Robert Dubois! He was the first to correctly predict the 9-6-3 triactor in last week's "pick 'em" race at Delta Downs so he has $80 in wagering vouchers waiting to be picked up at the VLT lounge anytime between 9 a.m. and 2 a.m. Just produce ID. In the other part of the contest, the $20 prize for predicting the winner of the race was--again--horse owner Larry Liebrecht. Larry might have had a bit of an advantage by getting in his entries ahead of others. But, starting with tonight's contest, all entrants will have an equal chance to win because all entries having the correct answers will be placed into draw on Friday night as noted above.

Here are entrants who also picked the winner last week. Each of you have a consolation prize of a free racing program (your choice) waiting for you in the VLT lounge: Shawn Gorrie (the other entrant who picked the triactor--nice going, Shawn!), Stewart Hayek, Stephen Nelson (who's going to have to fly in from the Cayman Islands for his prize--no, we'll mail him a keepsake 50th anniversary pin instead!), Chuck Whalen, Terry Propps, Ed McKenna, Bob Bodnaryk, Ralph Bent, Dan Jukich, Kenneth Johnson, Gord Balanduk, Keith MacLennan, G Miller and Brett Roberts.

OTHER CONTEST WINNERS

Here's a first: King Fred retains his poker crown!

King Fred performs royally again!
Can you de-throne him?
FRIDAY POKER: Fred Bruenger is Poker King for the second week in a row--the first time that has happened! Maybe that's because he has real royal blood in his ancestry! He won $100 in wagering vouchers. But nobody won the side pool prop (a one-eyed jack and king) so that pool has been increased to $200 cash for tomorrow night. Get into the game!

LIGHTNING ROUND (last of the season): Retired bank employee Bonnie Simmonds turned $94 in betting spree wagers into $118 which she then took to the VLT lounge where she parlayed the money into $650 playing the "Five Times" game!

SUPER BOWL FIELD GOAL CONTEST: Telemarketing customer rep Robert Dubois (yup, he also won my "pick 'em" triactor contest above) picked up $200 cash for predicting there would be two field goals scored in the game and Pittsburgh would win. He received the full prize because he was present during the game, playing racing from Australia. Nice going, Rob! No one won the half-time prize because no one had made a "one field goal" prediction.

HEAD-TO-HEAD SATURDAY AFTERNOON: The prize has been increased to $100 for this Saturday because none of the three contestants correctly predicted the winner in the contest race last week. Get into the game by placing your non-winning tickets into a drum in the Race Book.

In the last six years, Larry Jones has earned a deserved reputation as one of the top 3-year-old trainers in the world. He never pushes his 2-year-olds past their limits and uses many of their early career races as proper training races. He puts a tremendous foundation in both his colts and fillies. Next week we will be looking at his top Derby prospect, Old

Larry Jones: Adept with babies
Fashioned, prior to his running in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn. However, this week Larry Jones has a couple of lesser known prospects running in the Risen Star Stakes Saturday at the Fair Grounds.

Friesen Fire improved greatly in his second start wearing blinkers. He won The Lecomte at Fair Grounds four weeks ago and has an interesting blend of stamina and tactical speed. The fact that Gabriel Saez has a choice in the Risen Star and is riding Friesen Fire may suggest that he is Jones' second best prospect. I am intrigued by the other Jones' colt in the race--It Happened Again. He confidently pulled away from a field of 10 just three weeks ago in The Triple Sec Stakes at Delta Downs. He looks similar to a lot of previous Jones' runners that improved their numbers substantially at this time of year.

WHAT'S HOT? WHAT'S NOT?

HOT: This Budweiser Super Bowl commercial called "horse love." Doesn't it leave you with a lump in your throat? (Maybe washing away the lump with a brewski is what the beer execs had in mind!)

NOT: The debut of Barbaro's full brother, Nicanor, at Gulfstream last Saturday. Barbaro's huge fan club anticipated the appearance of Nicanor perhaps too much. He left the gate tardily, showed a bit of zip, then fell back to 10th in the 12-horse field. This 3-year-old colt clearly doesn't have the talent of his late great brother who won the Kentucky Derby in eye-popping fashion before injuring himself in the Preakness and had to be euthanized after a long struggle to recover. We won't give up on Nicanor yet, however. Maybe a clean fast start will help his chances.

UPCOMING EVENTS: Register for the FREE "Roses" contest

The countdown to the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 2, is lots of fun but keeping track of the horses in the prep races leading up to the Derby makes it even more fun. And, this year, as you read above, you can make yourself eligible to collect $1,000 cash by simply predicting a show horse in the prep races leading up to the Derby, the "run for the roses." So be sure to register. Your first selection is due on Valentine's Day in the $200,000 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate. The second contest race will be two days later, the Southwest Stakes from Oaklawn, on holiday Monday, Feb. 16, Super Simulcast Race Day, featuring potential super horse Old Fashioned. There are a total of 16 contest races ending with the Kentucky Derby itself. It will be a convenient contest to play, too, because you can enter your weekly show selection at the track, at an OTB location or via email and best of all it's FREE!