Fort Erie, Assiniboia Downs open summer meets Tuesday

Canadian summer racing goes into full swing Tuesday as both Fort Erie Race Track and Assiniboia Downs open for the season.

Fort Erie will run 40 race days during the 2022 meet, with closing day scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 18. Most of Fort Erie's race dates will be on Mondays and Tuesdays, though they will run special Sunday cards on June 19, July 17, and Aug. 14. Located in Fort Erie, Ontario, the track is a four-and-a-half-mile drive from downtown Buffalo, N.Y.

The feature race of the Fort Erie meet is the 87th running of the Prince of Wales Stakes, the second jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown. The Prince of Wales will be run on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

The 10-race Tuesday card at Fort Erie gets under way at 4:05 p.m. EDT. Its highlights include a pair of C$30,000 (US$23,749) maiden stakes races, the Summer Solstice Cup and the Sprint Into Summer Cup. Both of these stakes, restricted to maidens who are conditioned by Fort Erie-based trainers, drew fields of 12 horses.

The Summer Solstice Cup, at five furlongs on the dirt, is open to fillies and mares ages 3 and up. It will be run as the fifth race on the card. Natasha's Bizniz, who ran a close second in a maiden claiming race at Tampa Bay Downs on March 2, is the 3-1 morning-line favorite for trainer Barrington Siddo. Other major contenders include Shes Astylish Katz, 4-1 on the morning line after hitting the board in eight of 12 starts so far, and Dance for Gold, 6-1 on the morning line after a close fourth-place finish at Woodbine May 6.

The Sprint into Summer Cup, the 10th and final race on Fort Erie's opening-day card, is for open company at five furlongs on dirt. Invisible Friend, who has finished in the superfecta at Woodbine in four out of his first five starts, is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in his first career dirt race. Other top contenders include Maximum Danger, who ran second in a maiden claimer at Woodbine on May 7, and Skills Test, who was well beaten in a $40,000 maiden optional-claiming race May 7 at Woodbine but finished a competitive second in a waiver maiden-claiming sprint there April 24.

Assiniboia Downs, located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, will race live until Tuesday, Sept. 27. The track will host racing each Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, except for June 8 and Sept. 21, for a total of 50 live dates.

In addition to broadcasting at simulcast centers and ADW providers, Assiniboia Downs also streams its cards live on its YouTube channel. New for this season, the track also offers a player portal. It includes links to free programs, past performances, picks, and handicapping tools, including Horse Racing Nation's Track Trends Tool.

Assiniboia's seven-race card gets under way at 8:35 p.m. EDT, and is anchored by a pair of C$20,000 (US$15,832) stakes races.

The Electric Fever Overnight Stakes, a five-furlong dirt sprint, drew a field of seven 3-year-old fillies and will be run as the second race on Tuesday's card. 5-2 morning-line favorite Kim's Texas Bling, who finished third in the Texas Stallion Stakes at Sam Houston on January 22, makes her first start since being claimed by 2021 leading trainer Jerry Gourneau. Other key contenders include Lipstick Lady, 3-1 on the morning line after winning two straight claiming races at Turf Paradise, and Favorite, appointed at 4-1 on the morning line in her three-year-old debut. Though she is still a maiden, last year Favorite finished second in three juvenile stakes at Assiniboia, including two against males.

The Nifty Overnight Stakes, the seventh and final race of Assiniboia's opening day, drew a field of twelve older horses to go five furlongs on the dirt, though only eleven are expected to run due to the scratch of outside-drawn Eddy Forever. Warrior's Map, the 3-1 morning line favorite for Gourneau, finished second in the Dowd Mile at Fonner Park on April 9 and on May 7 finished third in an allowance optional claiming race at Lone Star. Others expected to make an impact include 4-1 morning line second choice Market King, competitive in starter and allowance races at Turf Paradise through the winter, and 9-2 third choice Lifesbeengoodsofar, well beaten in his last two at Turf Paradise but a perennial fixture in allowance and stakes races at Assiniboia.