From backstretch to homestretch to grandstand, it takes a village to keep Assiniboia Downs up and running during race season
By: Mike McIntyre
Posted: 5:56 PM CDT Thursday, May. 14, 2026
Sunrise is still 45 minutes away, but don’t tell that to the 12 horses inside Steve Keplin Jr.’s barn.
A flick of the light switch at 5 a.m. and, like clockwork, the magnificent animals rise in their stalls and poke their heads out, ready to begin their day.
It’s a big one, too. The start of the 2026 racing season has arrived at Assiniboia Downs, with the first of 50 race nights on tap.
Two of Keplin Jr.’s thoroughbreds — Ceepeegee and Steal Your Soul — are set to compete this evening. And the leading trainer from the 2025 campaign is hoping to pick up where he left off.
It’s not going to be easy. There are approximately 50 other trainers working with more than 400 horses on the grounds with similar ambitions between now and mid-October.
Competition is stiff. The stakes are high.