Assiniboia Downs sets wagering record with 21 per cent jump in 2025

Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg has wrapped up the most successful season in its history, with total wagering reaching a record $75.2 million.

That figure is up 21.16 per cent from 2024 and about $12 million above the previous record of $63.2 million, set in 2020. Average wagering per race card was $1.5 million, Canadian Thoroughbred reported.

The track may be the only thoroughbred track in Canada to post a wagering increase in 2025. It has cut all of its takeout rates below 20 per cent, a step few North American tracks have taken.

On-track attendance for live racing was the highest in more than a decade, helped by Wednesday Girls Night Out events over the summer. Those events will return.

Derby night and champions

Manitoba Derby night set a record of its own, with $3,974,168 wagered on the evening, the second-highest handle in the track's history. The $125,000 Manitoba Derby was won by Attack, trained by Craig Robert Smith and ridden by N'Rico Prescod. Manitoba-bred Mighty Mikee won the Buffalo Stakes by 17 and three-quarter lengths for trainer Devon Gittens.

Closing day featured a mandatory payout of the track's Jackpot Pick 5. The carryover topped $300,000, and another $1.7 million was bet into the pool, pushing it past $2 million by post time for the third race. A $1 winning ticket paid $260.70.

Damario Bynoe won his first jockey title with 60 wins, 12 more than three-time champion Antonio Whitehall. Steve Keplin Jr. took his first trainer title with 40 wins, eight ahead of Mike Nault, extending to 11 straight years the run of First Nations trainers winning the championship. Chief Murray Clearsky of Waywayseecappo First Nation presented the trophy.

CEO Darren Dunn thanked staff and horsepeople and said he was grateful for "our growing fanbase of loyal horseplayers."

The 2026 season at the six-and-a-half-furlong track is scheduled to open on Tuesday, May 12.