{"id":321067,"date":"2025-08-05T23:44:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T23:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/321067\/"},"modified":"2025-08-05T23:44:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T23:44:11","slug":"drama-at-the-downs-winnipeg-free-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/321067\/","title":{"rendered":"Drama at the Downs \u2013 Winnipeg Free Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

Massive crowds. Record wagering. And no shortage of controversy leading to an unprecedented ruling in the biggest local race of the year.<\/p>\n

Yes, the 77th running of the Manitoba Derby at Assiniboia Downs was one for the ages.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust when you think you\u2019ve seen it all,\u201d Darren Dunn, the track\u2019s CEO, told the Free Press.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"MIKAELA
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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n

Attack (checkered colours) won the 77th Manitoba Derby Monday night after Take Charge Tom (right) was disqualified. In the Derby race, there were four complaints lodged involving five different horses.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Late Monday night, the No. 7 horse Take Charge Tom looked every bit the dominant favourite. The Kentucky-bred gelding lived up to his name and bolted out of the gate, grabbed the lead, and never looked back, leaving seven other elite competitors in his wake.<\/p>\n

It was impressive stuff. Thousands of bettors in the crowd of approximately 8,000 \u2014 along with online viewers around the globe who combined for nearly $4 million in total bets on the night \u2014 were already counting their winnings.<\/p>\n

And then came the twist.<\/p>\n

It started with the connections of the No. 1 horse \u2014 which finished fifth \u2014 filing an obstruction complaint against the No. 3 and No. 4 horses, which finished second and fourth respectively. Moments later, the No. 5 horse, which finished seventh, claimed interference against the winner. Last, but certainly not least, No. 4 filed its own complaint against No. 7.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt happens. They\u2019re human. It\u2019s 45 miles an hour in a big race and things happen quickly.\u201d\u2013 Assiniboia Downs CEO Darren Dunn<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

To put that into perspective: even a single claim of foul is relatively rare. Four separate complaints involving five different horses? Practically unheard of \u2014 and a sure sign something was wrong.<\/p>\n

While stewards began reviewing video evidence, Dunn stood in the winner\u2019s circle ready to present the championship trophy to the victorious group. At that point, only the complaints against Nos. 3 and 4 had been announced, so a snap decision was made to proceed with the ceremony. Photos were taken. Hardware was handed out.<\/p>\n

Nearly 20 minutes later came the bombshell: Take Charge Tom was disqualified.<\/p>\n

Replays showed jockey Rasheed Hughes had sharply steered his mount toward the rail shortly after the break, crowding rivals and forcing multiple horses to steady. Stewards ruled that all the subsequent contact \u2014 including Nos. 3 and 4 on No. 1 \u2014 stemmed from No. 7\u2019s aggressive move, which nearly tripped up Nos. 4 and 5 in the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just really unfortunate the jockey did not pay closer attention to how he angled over to the rail,\u201d said Dunn.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt happens. They\u2019re human. It\u2019s 45 miles an hour in a big race and things happen quickly. But it\u2019s still too bad he didn\u2019t\u2026 until he was more aware of his environment to see that he needed to be further clear on the front before coming over to save ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n

Randy Howg (left) hands trophies to Attack trainer Craig Robert Smith, who won after Take Charge Tom was disqualified Monday night at the 77th Manitoba Derby. This was the first time in the running of the Derby the winner has been disqualified.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The ruling elevated No. 4 Attack \u2014 led by jockey N\u2019Rico Prescod \u2014 from runner-up to Derby champion, with the Alberta-owned gelding paying a tidy $14.50 in the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst time in 77 Manitoba Derby\u2019s the winner has been disqualified. So it was a little bit of a complicated experience,\u201d said Dunn, who hosted a private reception at the end of the night with all of the owners and trainers.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, the owner of the horse that was disqualified was very classy and we raised a glass to the ultimate official winner. But very unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dunn later arranged a do-over in the winner\u2019s circle for Attack\u2019s team, complete with trophies and photos \u2014 though the horse itself was already back in the barn cooling down.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an awkward situation, but they were good about it,\u201d said Dunn.<\/p>\n

Not as much grace was shown by some bettors who had backed Take Charge Tom and voiced their anger on social media.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf they feel a horse was impeded, they\u2019re empowered to disqualify. And that\u2019s what they did.\u201d\u2013 Darren Dunn<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cSome people lost money out of that, and certainly natural instinct is to be upset,\u201d Dunn acknowledged.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the stewards are employed by the Liquor Gaming Cannabis Authority. In the simplest terms, they\u2019re the referees of our sport. Not unlike the CFL or the NHL there\u2019s going to be times when people agree with the tripping or holding call, or feel one has been missed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dunn, who has been working at the track for 44 years, believes they ultimately got it right.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stewards have an elevated view from the grandstand. They have access to all the television angles and they are tasked with making sure the race was run clean and fair,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they feel a horse was impeded, they\u2019re empowered to disqualify. And that\u2019s what they did. I think people, if they didn\u2019t have a wager on it, and looked with very unbiased eyes, would feel that made sense and they could understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dunn also praised the riders for preventing what could have been a catastrophe \u2014 singling out 22-year-old rookie Ciera Pruitt, making her Derby debut aboard No. 5 War Is Hell, for keeping her mount upright after getting clipped by No. 7. The Winnipegger kept a steady hand to ensure everyone remained upright.<\/p>\n

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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n

Assiniboia Downs CEO Darren Dunn praised Winnipeg jockey Cierra Pruitt (seen here on Kate\u2019s Princess in the final race of the night) for keeping her mount on War Is Hell after Take Charge Tom clipped the horse early into the Derby race. Dunn said there could have been an accident had it not been for Pruitt.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re fortunate that didn\u2019t lead to an accident. It could have had an outcome that wasn\u2019t positive. It\u2019s certainly something that was avoidable,\u201d said Dunn.<\/p>\n

Following the shakeup, No. 6 Maldini \u2014 trained by Pruitt\u2019s mother, Lise \u2014 moved into second, while No. 3 Mr. Jaws, trained by veteran Jerry Gourneau, took third.<\/p>\n

In addition to all the drama, Derby night also delivered a tragic reminder of just how dangerous the sport of kings can be. In the second race of the night, a horse named Blackteca pulled away down the stretch for a close victory \u2014 then collapsed seconds after crossing the finish line.<\/p>\n

Jockey Sven Balroop fell to the ground but walked away unharmed as trainer Steve Keplin Jr. rushed to the side of his horse. Medics and the track vet determined the horse could not be saved.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, he had to be humanely euthanized by the on-site regulatory vet,\u201d said Dunn.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThese horses are reviewed by a vet every morning, every horse gets a pre-race veterinary inspection, they\u2019re monitored in the paddock, they\u2019re monitored warming up for a race and, of course, after the race.\u201d\u2013 Darren Dunn commenting on race horse Blackteca, who had to be humanely euthanized by the on-site regulatory vet.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cStatistically, these occurrences are rare, but they can happen. We trust in the experts. These horses are reviewed by a vet every morning, every horse gets a pre-race veterinary inspection, they\u2019re monitored in the paddock, they\u2019re monitored warming up for a race and, of course, after the race. But it\u2019s still very unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2025 Derby drew one of the largest crowds in recent memory, with the biggest handle in track history for a seven-race card. The biggest payout came in the form of the Jackpot Pick 5, which began the night with a carryover pot of $465,218 and ended up just north of $2 million for winners to split \u2014 a winning 20-cent ticket paid $2,469.46.<\/p>\n

You have to wonder how many more folks would have cashed in had Take Charge Tom run a clean race.<\/p>\n

Racing continues at Assiniboia Downs through every Tuesday and Wednesday, and on select Mondays, through Oct. 8.<\/p>\n

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Mike<\/p>\n

Mike McIntyre<\/strong>
Reporter
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Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Massive crowds. Record wagering. And no shortage of controversy leading to an unprecedented ruling in the biggest local…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":321068,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4107],"tags":[1071,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-321067","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-racing","8":"tag-racing","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114978820345339617","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}