Hall of Famer and perennial Oaklawn champion Steve Asmussen saddled two winners on Friday's opening-day card, pushing his career total in Hot Springs to 757 (No. 2 all time).
Asmussen won the second race with Requisition ($9) and the fourth race with favored Chicken Hawk ($5.40) to grab an early lead in the standings. Asmussen and the late Hall of Famer Henry Forrest share the Oaklawn record for career training titles with 11.
Asmussen returns to Oaklawn after winning a meet-high 60 races, including eight stakes, during the 2021 live season. He also set a single-season record for purse earnings ($6,057,877).
“We're obviously very fortunate,” Asmussen said during training hours Friday morning at Oaklawn. “We've sent some extremely talented horses. Oaklawn offers the opportunity to run for good purses. Obviously, I like and am very comfortable with the stakes schedule here. Expecting a big meet.”
Asmussen holds career Oaklawn records for stakes victories and purse earnings, 96 and $41,762,480, respectively, through Friday.
Asmussen also was Oaklawn's leading trainer in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. Asmussen is North America's all-time winningest trainer (United States and Canada) with 9,564 through Friday, according to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization.
The late Bob Holthus is the only other trainer in Oaklawn history to reach 800 victories in Hot Springs. Holthus won nine Oaklawn training titles.
Friday's second race marked Oaklawn's first for 2-year-olds since March 27, 1975.
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