Assiniboia Downs finishes
season with a flourish
By Scott Taylor, Photos courtesy of James Carey Lauder and Assiniboia Downs
Christopher Husbands was the
champion jockey and Ton Gardipy Jr.
won his fourth trainers’ title as the
2015 Assiniboia Downs live meet came
to a close on September 11.
And when you throw in the
significant increase in wagering, the
Manitoba Horse Racing Commission’s
new board and the upswing in
attendance, this might have been the
best racing season in Downs’ history.
“You could not draw up this season
any better,” CEO Darren Dunn said in
a written statement. “The 50-day live
racing season at Assiniboia Downs
for our customers to wager on
and drive further stimulus to the
provincial economy in our role in the
agriculture and tourism areas and we
accomplished this in spades,” Dunn
said.
“We achieved revenue growth that
far exceeded current industry norms,
well matched with very large and
enthusiastic crowds on a regular basis.
Add to this the dramatic increase in
our ‘partner’ (other gaming venues)
wagering numbers which is always a
continued focus to try and grow and
it is clear that the Assiniboia Downs
live race product was very
desirable,” he concluded.
Total wagering on last
year’s 50-day meet was $6.5
million. This year it was
$9.53 million.
Meanwhile, on the track,
the finish could not have
been more exciting.
Riding a stunning
10 winners in 21 races
on the final weekend,
veteran Barbadian jockey
Christopher Husbands
easily captured his second
riding title in three years
with 15 wins more than his
rival, rookie Bajan rider,
Antonio Whitehall.
On the trainers’ side, Tom
Gardipy, Jr., from Beardy’s
and Okemasis First Nation
in Saskatchewan, won his
fourth title with 37 wins,
three more than Don
Schnell. Dunn, as always,
was impressed with Gardipy
Jr., who won his fourth title
since 2009.
“Day in and day out he is
one of the hardest working
and most hands on trainers
in the backstretch,” said
Downs CEO Darren Dunn,
Paddock Host Rob MacLennan, jockey champion Christppher Husbands, Downs CEO Darren Dunn and trainers’ champion Tom Gardipy Jr.
30 / sportslife
came to a spectacular end Sunday
night with a stunning 44 per cent
increase in wagering per race, an
increase which included a single-day
record of $1.1 million on Manitoba
Derby Day, August 1.”
It seems that with the change in
government this year, everything
started to go right for Manitoba’s little
thoroughbred race track, proving that
if you leave the experts alone, racing
can thrive in this province.
“Our goal was to bring more
horses into Manitoba to compete,
increase the per race field size