Downs CEO Darren Dunn on Opening Night. There was a big smile under that mask
Trainer Jerry Gourneau got his 500th career win and won the trainers title at the Downs for the second time Champion jockey Antonio Whitehall not only led the standings at Assiniboia Downs, but was the leading jockey in Canada
Jockey Stanley Chadee Jr. won almost a dozen stakes races and finished second in the jockey standings
ASD Sets Records During a Strange Season
Young trainer Tiffany husbands with her stakeswinning Manitoba-bred Dazzling Gold
By Scott Taylor, Photos by Rusty Barton and James Carey Lauder
On Monday night, May 25, Manitoba’s great little thoroughbred race track, Assiniboia Downs opened amid the COVID-19 pandemic by running six races with no fans in attendance and yet, by the end of the season, the track was having one of its greatest racing seasons ever. It started with a decision to run its races on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, instead of the weekend so maximize exposure and on-line wagering. It resulted in record after record. The 2020 50-day race meet concluded with total wagering of $63,264,000, dwarfing last year’s $12,467,855 for the same number of days. The 2020 average was $1.265 million per night. A new season wagering record was also set. The previous record was set in 1981 when $53,394,913 was wagered during a 135-day race meet. SportsLife Magazine sent Rusty Barton and James Carey Lauder out to the track to photograph the people who made it happen. l Jockey Shannon Beauregard won the 900th race of her career at the Downs this summer
The gate crew social distancing, from left Derek Corbel, Earl Johnson, Ryan Keith, Clayton Quewezance, Darrell Sanderson, Sheldon Chickeness, Cameron Delaronde and Curtis Mike
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The hard-working Downs pony riders and outriders
