ASSINIBOIA DOWNS
The Inside Track | Issue #64 | January 27, 2023
  • Open daily from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.
  • VLTs, Race Carrels and Tables are sanitized between customer use.
In this edition . . .
  • What's happening at the Downs?
  • 2023 Handicapping Tournaments
  • Dining at ASD
  • New Value Added Chef's Specials
  • Valentine's Dinner & Dance
  • Downs' CEO Honoured with Platinum Jubilee Medal
  • Premachuk Wins Player's Choice Tourney
  • Call for Foal Photos
  • 2023 Shipping Incentives
  • 2023 Live Racing Dates/Purses/Stakes
  • ASD Condition Book #1 Download
  • Road to the Kentucky Derby
  • Cyberknife Favoured in Pegasus
  • Southwest Stakes Analysis
  • Kimura Heating Up in California
  • Snapshot in Time: Bert Blake and Clique
  • Carryover Watch
  • TravyFootball Conference Championships
  • The Best of Bob: Tom's Triactor - Family, Horses and Golf
  • Upcoming Events
Do the Downs!
Club West Gaming Lounge

140 VLTs available daily in our spacious Club West Gaming Lounge from 10 a.m. through 1 a.m. Please note that our VLTs are santizied between play. Click here for a full list of games available at ASD.

Special promotions in our Club West Gaming Lounge:

  • Every Thursday & Friday - Enter for your chance to spin the wheel for up to $100. Draws will be made every 30 minutes starting at noon.
2023 Player's Choice Online Handicapping Tournaments

  • Saturday, February 18, 2023
  • Saturday, March 18, 2023
  • Saturday, April 15, 2023
  • Saturday, May 13, 2023

Entry fee: $25. Bankroll: $60. Place 10 ($2 WPS) wagers on any North American race that takes place on the contest day. You must have a Manitoba HPI account to participate. Deadline to enter is 4 p.m. the Friday before the tournament. For complete list of 2023 handicapping tournaments click here.
January HPI Cash Back Specials

  • MONDAY MADNESS: Earn 3% cash back on all eligible wagers Mondays during the month of January (January 30). Minimum wager $100. Maximum cash back $25. ($2.10 payouts are not eligible.) All wagers must be placed on your HPI account.
  • PEGASUS BONUS: Earn 2% cash back on all eligible wagers on Gulfstream Park on Saturday, January 28. Minimum wager $100. Maximum cash back $25. ($2.10 payouts are not eligible.) All wagers must be placed on your HPI account.
Dining at Assiniboia Downs
Club West Dining Room & Lounge Open Daily

Enjoy breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks plus Happy Hour food and beverage specials in our Club West Dining Room & Lounge! Open daily from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.
New! Value Added Chef's Specials
Introducing our new value added Friday and Saturday specials. Friday's feature "Steak and Suds" which includes an 8 oz. top Sirloin steak plus a complimentary pint of ASD Lucky Lager and Saturday's feature "Prime and Wine" which includes an 8 oz. cut of Certified Angus Prime Rib plus a complimentary 6 oz. glass of house wine.

Served from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Reservations are not required.
Valentine's Dinner & Dance
Tuesday, February 14

Enjoy our renowned Certified Angus Prime Rib buffet from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. then dance until midnight at our Valentine's Dinner & Dance!

  • See full menu here
  • $49.95 per person (plus taxes & gratuities). Call 204-885-3330
Sweetheart of a Deal!

Purchase your tickets by Tuesday, January 31 and receive a complimentary 6 oz. glass of wine or bottle of house wine for reservations of four or more.

Call Samantha at 204-885-3330. Use promo code VALENTINE2023.
Congratulations! Downs' CEO Darren Dunn honoured with Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (Manitoba).
Assiniboia Downs' CEO Darren Dunn (second from left) is presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (Manitoba) on January 24, 2023 at the Manitoba Legislative Building, by the Honourable Heather Stefanson, Premier of Manitoba (left), Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, Anita Neville (seated), and Mr. Kevin Klein, MLA for Kirkfield Park (right).
Assiniboia Downs’ CEO Darren Dunn was honoured with the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (Manitoba) on January 24, 2023 at the Manitoba Legislative Building.

“As a Province, we are proud to take this opportunity to recognize the outstanding service of Manitobans who have done much to build and enhance our Province,” said The Honourable Heather Stefanson, Premier of Manitoba. “You are among this distinguished group.

“I thank you for your leadership, your dedicated service to your peers, to your community, to Manitoba and to Canada. The contributions you have made to our Province are highly commendable and deserve our praise and admiration. May you wear your Medal with justified pride in your own accomplishments and in commemoration of this significant and unique milestone for our late Queen.”

Dunn was nominated to receive the award by MLA for Kirkfield Park, Kevin Klein (and former MLA Scott Fielding). The award marks the 70th anniversary of Her Late Majesty’s accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada. The Medal is a tangible way for the province of Manitoba to honour Her Late Majesty for her service to Canada.

“I was beyond humbled and honoured to receive this recognition," said Dunn. "I take great pride in the contributions Assiniboia Downs makes to this province in jobs, economic activity, tourism and agri-business. While I have dedicated my entire working life to promoting people to participate in Manitoba, it was certainly done without any intent of personal accolades. 

"In saying that, it is truly heart-warming and so greatly appreciated that those efforts were recognized – I will remember and cherish this for a lifetime. I also want to especially thank and recognize Kevin Klein and Scott Fielding for putting my name forward for consideration.”

Congratulations Mr. Dunn!
At The Post with G.S. Thompson
Randy Premachuk Wins Player's Choice Tourney
Long-time horse owner and handicapper scores big with late longshots
Player's Choice winner Randy Premachuk with his stakes-placed runner Smoke Show.
Longtime handicapper and horse owner Randy Premachuk came flying home late with two longshots at Santa Anita to win last Saturday’s Player’s Choice Handicapping Tournament with a bankroll of $144.70, and his bankroll would have been even higher if not for a jockey miscalculation.

Even without that, Premachuk still finished a whopping $34.10 ahead of his nearest pursuer in the contest, runner-up Evelyn Tilston-Jones ($110.60), who was followed by Dave Boehmer ($110.10), Greg Earl ($74.30) and Keith MacLennan ($74.10). See full tournament results here.

In the fifth race at Tampa Bay, Premachuk, played General Robinson, a 5/2 morning-line horse going off at 8-1, and there’s no question he should have won. General Robinson stalked a duel, moved to the lead outside in the stretch and accelerated every time the jockey asked him too, until the last jump, when the jockey forgot to ask, and the 9/5 favourite rallied up the rail to snatch victory from sure defeat.

The second-place finish got Premachuk off to reasonable start, but it wasn’t until the eighth and ninth races at Santa Anita that he really got rolling. In the eighth at Santa Anita, he found Duvet Day at 12-1, whose stablemate was favoured in the race. Premachuk thought they were over betting the Argentinian shipper and a few other entrants in the race. He also heard trainer Michael McCarthy say in the pre-race analysis that he thought Duvet Day would like the 1 ½-mile distance.

"There was only one horse in the race that had previously gone a mile and a half," said Premachuk. "So I thought they were going to bet that one too. I pulled the trigger on Duvet Day feeling quite confident, and he came like a freight train late."

Duvet Day spent most of the race at the back of the field under Woodbine’s reigning leading rider Kazushi Kimura, came 7-wide into the stretch, and exploded to catch the leader late in a replay worth watching. He paid $27.30, $10.70 $4.50 across the board.

In the ninth race at Santa Anita Premachuk played Stay in the Game at 19-1 and that horse also came flying home with what seemed an impossible late rally to catch the leader at the wire. Stay In the Game paid $41.70, $12.60 $5.60 and definitely put Premachuk at the top of his game.

"Sometimes when you're playing in a contest and you’re behind, you're searching for longshots, you're taking some stabs," said Premachuk. "But in in this particular contest I didn't feel I took any. I thought the long shots I played were logical.

"After I hit that first one, I was prepared to wait for another longshot, but I started looking at the ninth race more and more, and I thought Stay in the Game could really be competitive. He’d just broken his maiden and he was running an allowance race and his morning line was 10-1. So it wasn't like I was looking at a 30-1 shot, but he went off at 19-1."

Premachuk is a comprehensive handicapper who has been at the game for over 40 years, both as a handicapper and a horse owner. The co-owner of Dave’s Quick Print has won a number of contests in the past, and he’s also owned a few stakes-quality horses including Smoke Show, who finished second in both the CTHS Sales Stakes and Hazel Wright Sire Stakes, and Hey Bro, who finished second in the R. J. Speers Stakes locally and third in the Harvest Plate Stakes at Century Downs.

Premachuk claims horses and also buys yearlings from the Manitoba CTHS Yearling Sale. With a little bit of luck, he says he could have won some stakes, but his purchases have been stakes placed.

"I've always done well with the horses I’ve bought there," said Premachuk. "I’ve had some success with some of the horses I’ve bought from Cam Ziprick in the sale, and I’ve had fun."

Premachuk plans to use his $1,000 first prize towards a trip to Hawaii in February, and in the upcoming season at the Downs he’s looking forward to campaigning Rollin Sevens. The former Winnipeg Futurity runner-up is now a 6-year-old on the comeback trail, and he’s as game as they come when he’s able to get into the race early.

When he’s not running Dave’s Quick Print, Premachuk loves to spend time with his horses both at the track and at his farm in East Selkirk, where he keeps a few horses including Smoke Show. When he had horses at the track with the late Ardell Sayler, he spent a lot of time in the barn.

“They called me the carrot man,” said Premachuk. In other words…

A winner.
Call for Foal Photos
The Jockey Club of Canada wants to showcase your foals and so do we!
The new Manitoba foals will soon be here and we want to see yours! (Manitoba CTHS photo)
The foaling season will soon be upon us and the Jockey Club of Canada is looking for foal photos to share with their membership group. If you have a foal you'd like to show off, please email your photo to [email protected] and include the province foaled, sire, dam, and photographer, as well as any additional information you wish to provide.

Any photos received will be included in the Jockey Club of Canada Newsletter through to the end of foaling season. And don’t forget to cc us on your email at [email protected]. We’d love to showcase your foal photos here too!
Excellent Purses, Stakes Schedule and Shipping Incentives in Place for 2023 at ASD

Assiniboia Downs offers some of the best shipping incentives in North America, and an excellent purse and stakes schedule to match. If you're looking for a great place to race this summer, you won't find a more friendly and inviting track anywhere. We've also got one of the kindest racing surfaces in North America, complemented by numerous additional amenities.

The 50-day 2023 live race meeting begins on Monday, May 22, and runs through to Tuesday, September 19. We race Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings at ASD, which means you can take the weekends off and enjoy our fabulous Manitoba summer weather with family and friends! Links to the 2023 shipping incentives, racing and graded purse schedules here.
The first ASD Condition Book for 2023 is here! Time to get excited! Click here to download.
Can't make it to the track to wager?
Watch and wager at one of our off-track betting locations:
Super Flea Market at ASD
Saturday, Feb. 4 - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 5 - 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Mark your calendar! Prairie Strides' Annual Super Flea Market, is back! Collectibles, crafts, silent auction, 50/50 draw and more! Help support Prairie Strides and local businesses on Feb. 4th and 5th at Assiniboia Downs.

Admission is only $5 for adults, children under 12 are free! All proceeds go to Prairie Strides; helping children living with disabilities experience freedom, growth, and connection through horses.
Road to the Kentucky Derby

  • Jan. 28 - Southwest (OP)
  • Feb. 4 - Holy Bull (GP)
  • Feb. 4 - Withers (AQU)
  • Feb. 4 - Robert B. Lewis (SA)
  • Feb. 11 - Sam F. Davis (TAM)
  • Feb. 11 - El Camino Real (GG)

See Kentucky Derby prep winners here.

Kentucky Derby Future Wager Dates
  • Pool #3 - Jan. 20 to Jan. 22 - final odds
  • Pool #4 - Feb. 10 to Feb. 12
  • Pool #5 - Mar. 10 to Mar. 12
  • Pool #6 - Mar. 30 to Apr. 1
In The News
Pegasus World Cup headlines stellar 13-race program at Gulfstream on Saturday
Cyberknife makes his final career start in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 28. (Monmouth Park photo)
Cyberknife makes the final start of his career on Saturday, January 28 at Gulfstream Park, in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1), which headlines a stellar 13-race program also featuring the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1), the $500,000 TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G3), and four other graded stakes. There are also plenty of Canadian connections in action in the big races at Gulfstream on Saturday. More from Jennifer Morrison at the Canadian Thoroughbred here.
Bob Ehalt evaluates and handicaps the Southwest Stakes (G3) field
Arabian Knight is the morning-line favourite for Saturday's Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park. (Byron King photo)
Oaklawn Park's Southwest Stakes (G3) again will offer qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby (G1) in 2023, only this year there will be more to go around. The Jan. 28 stakes will offer a total of 40 points with the top five finishers, if eligible, receiving 20-8-6-4-2 points in descending order. Bob Ehalt analyzes the field for the Blood Horse here.
Woodbine's leading jockey wins another stakes race at Santa Anita at 13-1
Duvet Day (Ire) was covered up early in the $100,000 Astra Stakes by Woodbine jockey Kazushi Kimura before she flew to victory at 13-1. (Benoit photo)
Woodbine’s reigning leading jockey Kazushi Kimura is on a roll at Santa Anita. Last Sunday, Kimura won his first race ever at Santa Anita and first U.S. graded stakes when rallying Kristenbosch to a nose victory in the La Canada (G3) for trainer John Sadler. And this past Saturday, Kimura took things up a notch when closing the card with a flourish. More from the Canadian Thoroughbred here.
A Snapshot in Time
by Track Historian Bob Gates
This is Part #3 of our series in which we remember Albert Edward Blake. Blake and John Sifton were a force to be reckoned with in the late 1960s. Pictured above is Clique, a son of the great Round Table, and one of their best racehorses. On June 14, 1968, Clique broke the track record for 7-furlongs at ASD. His time of 1:24 would stand for 10 years. A few short weeks after setting the track record, Clique won the 1968 running of the Gold Cup. Of course Blake’s favourite rider, Bobby Stewart was Clique’s regular jockey. (Gerry Hart photo)
Carryover Watch
  • Gulfstream (January 27) - Jackpot Pick 6 carryover - $560,892
  • Woodbine Harness (January 27) - Jackpot Hi 5 carryover $200,575
  • Santa Anita (January 27) - Jackpot Pick 6 carryover $198,088

See all carryovers here.

Mandatory Payout Alerts:
Golden Gate will have a mandatory payout of their Jackpot Pick 6 on today (Friday, January 27). Current carryover is $54,818.

Gulfstream will have a mandatory payout of their Jackpot Pick 6 on Sunday, January 29. Current carryover is $560,892.
Top NFL Picks by TravyFootball: Conference Championships
*Sigh*…. Only 3 more games left 
 
49ers over Eagles (Sunday afternoon): The showdown between the two best NFC teams will take place on Sunday afternoon when my San Francisco 49ers travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, made me happier than watching the Niners dispose of “Dem Boys" last week. I celebrated so much I think I pulled my hamstring muscle, and even though once again the game caused my blood pressure to rise, in the end my boys were standing tall. Rookie of the Year candidate Brock Purdy could make history on Sunday by being the first rookie quarterback to win a conference championship game. He will have his work cut out for him, as the Eagles possess one of the stingiest pass defenses while also leading the league in total number of sacks. Where I believe the Niners have the advantage is in the run game, with the combination of Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell vs the Eagles 17th ranked rush defense. If they can control the clock with those two, I think San Fran will come out on top.  
 
Chiefs over Bengals Bengals (Sunday evening ): I’m going to base this on the assumption that Patrick Mahomes will be good enough to actually play in this game. He definitely will not be 100%, that much is for sure. A rematch from last year's AFC championship will again see the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bengals dominated the Bills last week and it was never in doubt who was in control from the get go. Joe Burrow had thrown two touchdowns passes before Buffalo even knew what hit them. Enough good things can’t be said about Burrow and I think he’s entered the conversation of who is the best QB in the league. Pat Mahomes on the other hand, didn’t have such an easy go at it against a frisky up and coming Jacksonville team last week. It really didn’t help that he gave every Chiefs fan a scare when he was tackled and had his ankle rolled up on. Luckily he was able to re-enter the game, although he really had zero mobility. He was just doing quick three-step drop backs on his passes as opposed to his usual scrambling around trying to make magic happen. The Bengals winning this game wouldn’t shock me at all, but I’m going to stick with the Chiefs just because they have home-field advantage, and Travis Kelce always seems to be open no matter what. 
 
Last week (1-2)
Overall (43-17) 
The Best of Bob
by ASD Historian Bob Gates

Tom Dodds has been retired from training thoroughbreds for almost a decade. Where does the time go? "Doddsie" spent the better part of 27 seasons racing at the Downs chalking up stakes victory after stakes victory. Click here to read about the life and times of the man from Carlyle, Saskatchewan and his many accomplishments at Assiniboia Downs. (From July 2021)
Upcoming events at ASD
  • Spin to Win in the Clubwest Gaming Lounge - Thursdays & Fridays - more info
  • 3% cash back Monday, January 30 - more info
  • 2% cash back on Saturday, January 28 - more info
  • Annual Super Flea Market - Saturday, Feb. 4 & Sunday, Feb. 5 - more info
  • 4% cash back on Tuesdays in February (7, 14, 21 & 28) - more info
  • Valentine's Dinner & Dance - Tuesday, Feb. 14 - more info
  • Together Again - FROST: Loud Luxury + special guests - Feb. 24 - more info
Feedback
We would love to hear from you! Email your comments and/or suggestions to [email protected].
The Inside Track Archives
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