Latest news with #ManitobaDerby
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Just Trust Me off to a storybook start
Former horse trainer John Mulligan said it looked like a scene from the movie 50-1, a film based on the true story of longshot Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird and his happy-go-lucky group of crazy cowboy owners who beat the bluebloods at their own game in 2009. This wasn't Kentucky and groom-owner-trainers Dewey Williams and Eugene Burns weren't quite in the Derby. Yet. This was Tuesday night racing at Assiniboia Downs. 'They just looked like a couple of good ole boys, happier than ever, walking into the winner's circle,' said Mulligan. 'It was a scene right out of that movie.' With a smile from ear to ear and a jovial laugh, the big orange-haired Burns led slick three-year-old colt Just Trust Me and jockey Antonio Whitehall into the winner's circle to meet trainer Williams after winning the first stakes race of the local season. Their $3,500 purchase had just won the $24,000 Fancy As Overnight Stakes, but it might as well have been the Kentucky Derby based on the happiness meter. Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo Just Trust Me and jockey Antonio Whitehall won the Fancy As Overnight Stakes at Assiniboia Downs on Tuesday. Not only did the Williams-Burns combo win the first stakes race of the season, they also upped their local record to a perfect three-for-three. Just Trust Me drew off to win by five lengths and it could have been more. It was a mismatch for a horse that might just be the local Manitoba Derby horse to beat. 'We'll see,' said Burns. 'He's going to the Golden Boy next.' Burns and Williams arrived from Turf Paradise with nine horses, four purchased in Northern California for less than US$10,000. All have won. Just Trust Me's victory was another triumph for red-hot jockey Antonio Whitehall. The three-time riding champion scored a hat trick Monday and added two more wins Tuesday, tying him atop the jockey standings with nine victories. 'Whitehall's been coming down and getting on a bunch of these,' said Williams. 'Sheldon Chickeness has been getting on horses for us too. He's a big part of our program. And Will Tourangeau, Monique Goulet, and Jared Brown have all helped us out. People are just nicer here.' Besides Williams and Burns, the barn crew includes Michelle Bennett and blacksmith Chance Dale, who's followed them from Phoenix to Wyoming to Winnipeg. Burns splits time between the track and his Georgia farm, where his wife Lindsay conditions show horses. Williams' better half Connie holds down the fort in Gooding, Idaho. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. The 40-year-old Burns and 71-year-old Williams started their partnership in Boise, Idaho, and have worked together since 2012. 'He came looking for me one day,' said Williams. 'And now he can't get rid of me.' After leaving Assiniboia Downs in 2018, Williams and Burns spent two years at Prescott and two in Wyoming. 'We were leading owner in Wyoming, and tied for leading trainer one year,' said Williams. COVID delayed their return to the Downs. Now they're back with serious Derby aspirations. 'One of the big factors for us coming here is we had this horse and we were debating on where to go to run him,' said Burns. 'They have a really good three-year-old program here, starting with the Fancy As Stakes, then the Golden Boy, and another mile prep before the Manitoba Derby. That's why we came.' Just Trust Me had already established solid credentials in California and Arizona before his local triumph. He broke his maiden at Del Mar in California, won an allowance race at Pleasanton, and finished second in the Luke Kruytbosch Overnight Stakes at Turf Paradise. When asked about their best horse ever, Williams was direct: 'Probably this one.' Burns and Williams have both won Idaho Cups and Colorado Derbies. Williams has also won the Sunray Park Futurity, the Sunray Park Derby, and the Albuquerque Derby in the past. Now they have a Manitoba Derby horse, and that's a whole different world. With their perfect start and genuine aspirations, these good ole boys from Idaho are proving sometimes the best stories come from the most unlikely places.
Winnipeg Free Press
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Big year ahead at Assiniboia Downs
And we're off! Assiniboia Downs kicks off its 68th live race meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 13, and the horses and their handlers are champing at the bit to get into that much-coveted winner's circle. The 50-day meeting will offer racing on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and selected Mondays (June 2, June 23, July 14, Aug. 4, Aug. 25, Sept. 15) with a post time of 7:30 p.m. until October 8. And two of the most popular handicappers on the internet, Kirt and Stretch, will be back with their ASD Live Show picks and analysis beginning every race night at 6:45 p.m. on the ASD YouTube Channel. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Assiniboia Downs CEO Darren Dunn with Gold Cup winner Magic Tiger. The highlight of the meeting will be the $125,000 Manitoba Derby sponsored by Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, which takes place on Monday, Aug. 4, as the first leg of the Western Canadian Derby Series, which offers a $100,000 bonus to any horse that can sweep the Manitoba Derby, the $200,000 Canadian Derby at Century Mile, and the $125,000 BC Derby at Hastings Racecourse. Seven races have been carded for an opening night that starts with the Don Gray Memorial as the first race, recognizing one of the classiest trainers ever to race at the Downs, and ends with a tough allowance/optional claimer featuring last year's Gold Cup winner Magic Tiger, trained by Wendy Anderson. The seventh race also caps off the popular $1 Pick 4, which begins the season with a $25,000 guaranteed pool. Magic Tiger would prefer to run a lot further, but the rare back-to-back Gold Cup winner has to get started somewhere for trainer Wendy Anderson, who has one of the largest stables on the grounds in a year when the battle for the leading trainer title looks wide open. Last year, Lee Delaronde won the title after taking over the conditioning of leading owner Henry S. Witt Jr.'s stable from Jerry Gourneau. This year, Delaronde is training nine horses, while Gourneau remains in the U.S. with Witt's horses. In the absence of Gourneau's traditionally large stable, numerous other trainers have packed their stalls with 20 or more horses including six-time leading trainer Tom Gardipy, Jr., Jared Brown, Carl Anderson, Steve Keplin, Jr., Mike Taphorn, Mike Nault, Lise Pruitt, Devon Gittens, and Sherri Laing. 2024 leading rider Prayven Badrie has returned from Trinidad to defend his title, along with all of the top 10 jockeys and more from last year, including 2024 runner-up Damario Bynoe and three-time champion Antonio Whitehall. That trio will be joined in the jocks' room by Ronald Ali, Rachaad Knights, Renaldo Cumberbatch, Dane Dawkins, Neville Stephenson, Sven Balroop, Arthur Budhu, Shavon Belle, Dario Dalrymple, Douglas Badaloo and a host of new apprentices. Bettors will once again be looking forward to the huge pools that are a result of the Downs growing its audience to include punters from around the globe in the United States, UK, Mexico, a number of countries in Europe, and also Australia, where ASD racing will be offered by Sky Sports. The Downs live race presentation that is broadcast around the world is considered to be the best of its kind, and it shows in the wagering. The Downs has also partnered with Travel Manitoba to showcase their product in two 30-second commercials around the world. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. On the home front, the Downs continues to attract customers with free parking and admission, great food (which can now be ordered via Skip The Dishes), numerous events, and Family Fun Nights every Tuesday in July and August (and on opening night). New for 2025 is a customer rewards program named ASD Advantage, which complements their rewards program already in place at by measuring and rewarding attendance and repeat food and beverage purchasing. The intent is to personalize the customer experience while rewarding loyalty to the facility. There will be three Manitoba Night Market events at the track this summer, featuring more than 100 local companies, along with other events that include Ribfest from May 23-25, Food Truck Battles on May 31 and June 1, Rocking & Wrestling on June 28, and PizzaFest on July 4 and 5. Watch the Downs social media pages on Facebook, Twitter (X), Instagram, and TikTok for more information on these events. Finally, we have the return of the popular 50/50 draw on live race nights, from which funds produced go to the Winner's Foundation — which provides addiction and counselling support to participants in the industry, and to Final Furlong — an organization that finds new homes for retired racehorses after their careers on the track conclude. It's amazing how many racehorses have found other careers after retiring from racing, thanks to Final Furlong, which is a member of the Horse Aftercare Alliance. Kindness wins.
