Are you ready for the rush of live racing?

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/05/2020 (1974 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Are you ready to share in the excitement and big betting pools of live racing at Assiniboia Downs when the season kicks off with a bang on Monday at 7 p.m.?

Being ready means having a wagering account so you can bet on your phone, laptop or computer.

That’s because, under coronavirus protocols, the track is closed to spectators just as at other tracks around the continent. Signing up is quick and easy. Just go to the website HPIbet.com or phone 204-885-3330, ext. 225. Your first $20 in wagers are free.

Racing will go every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and you don’t want to miss the opening few days because racing stars from the past will be celebrated in stakes races on each of those days. There will be the Liz’s Pride Stakes, recognizing a filly who won seven races in a row in 1978 as a two-year-old. Another will recall the great mare, Go Go Lolo, whose style was to close with a heart-stopping rush.

The third stakes race is named for IwoodifIcould, the winner of two Free Press Stakes in a row.
Want a tip? Watch out for horses from the barn of Mike Nault. When he enters a horse, he knows it’s  ready for a big effort — because he rides the horses himself in morning workouts. When he says certain horses are “working like a bear” you know he’s feeling their power under him.

“About five or six” of his horses will be racing in the opening few days, he says. Look for his name in the racing program which you may request free by emailing sherig@ASDowns.com.

Among Nault’s 32 horses is the darling of the Downs, Hidden Grace, a four-year-old filly who hasn’t tasted defeat since starting her career two years ago. She’s nine-for-nine, all of them stakes races.

She appears to be even more formidable this year. “She’s bigger and stronger and more aggressive,” said Nault. “She tries to buck me off.”

All of which means other horsemen are going to have to step up their game to take her down. She will make her 2020 debut in the $25,000 La Verendrye Stakes in three weeks.

Also of special interest in Nault’s barn is the full sister to Manitoba’s greatest horse ever — Escape Clause. While Escape Clause is in foal in Japan after winning more than $1 million racing in North America, her sister, Reasonable Cause, is still a baby awaiting her first race, likely in July.

At last count, 25 trainers had horses in training at the Downs and the horse population is expected to grow to 550.

With Assiniboia among just a few tracks racing on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, wagering pools are expected to be considerably fattened by bettors from around the world. Will you pocket a share?  It starts with your visit to HPIbet.