Assiniboia Handles $1.9M in Wagering on a Wednesday

Brisk betting on intriguing cards led to a $1.9 million day in betting at ASSINIBOIA DOWNS last Wednesday, June 11.

Trainers Steve Keplin, Jr and Devon Gittens were about as hot as a trainer can get this week. Keplin scored a hat trick at ASD, while Gittens won three races at Woodbine and another locally.

Keplin won two races on Tuesday and another on Wednesday to move to a commanding lead in the trainer standings. He won the first race on Tuesday with Sumitup ($11.20), and the third race with Judo ($8.60). He also won the fourth race on Wednesday with Joe’s Had Enough ($3.20). Keplin is winning at an amazing 37% clip and tops the standings with 11 wins, followed by Tom Gardipy, Jr. (7) Lise Pruitt (6) Jared Brown (5) and Wendy Anderson (5)

Gittens, who conditions horses both locally and at Woodbine, turned some heads at Woodbine on Sunday, winning with two first-time starters, both ridden by former ASD jockeys. Gittens teamed up with jockey Keveh Nicholls to win the second race at Woodbine on Sunday with So Delicious ($25.60) and the ninth race with Dontgobackonurword ($23.80) and Juan Crawford.

Gittens also won a race on Saturday at Woodbine and another at ASD on Wednesday with Venti ($3.40) for owners Larry Falloon and Maddy Derksen. All three Woodbine winners were owned by Canada’s leading owner Bruno Schickedanz. Gittens is now fifth in the Woodbine trainer standings with a record of 7-5-2 from 28 starts, a 25% win clip.

Tom Gardipy, Jr. won a pair of races on the week including the seventh race on Tuesday with Dragon Drew ($43.10), ridden by Ciera Pruitt. Dragon Drew combined with the winners of races four through six – Corredor ($34.20), Smackoverlime ($13.10) and Thatswhathesaid ($3.00) – to cap off a massive $1 Pick 4 payoff of $9,039.10 from a Pick 4 Pool of $139,377, which boosted the total wagering handle to $1,597,466.