Churchill Downs | Horse Racing Free Tips

June 14 Insights

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HALF TO FOUR WHEEL DRIVE DEBUTS AT CD

10th-CD, $79K, Msw, 3yo/up, 5 1/2fT, 5:50p.m.

Brendan Walsh unveils a half to talented turf sprinter Four Wheel Drive (American Pharoah) at Churchill Downs Sunday in BORN GREAT (Scat Daddy). Four Wheel Drive opened his account with three straight victories last seen, capped by a win in the GII Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint S. The $260,000 KEENOV buy is out of stakes winner Funfair (More Than Ready). Duplicity (Into Mischief), a $350,000 OBSMAR buy, was run down late after leading every step of the way to finish a close second on debut going this distance at Santa Anita Mar. 20 and makes his second start here. His dam Hysterical (Distorted Humor) is out of MGISW Tout Charmant (Slewvescent), who also produced GSW & GISP Dancing House (Tapit) and SW Too Charming (Bernardini). TJCIS PPs

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9,445 Career Wins Next Milestone On Asmussen’s Radar

Hall of Fame horseman Steve Asmussen surpassed South Louisville native Dale Romans as the all-time leading trainer in Churchill Downs history when 4-year-old filly Drop Dead Gorgeous cruised to an 8 1/2-length victory in Friday's opener for win No. 738 beneath the historic Twin Spires.

“We've had our eye on this target for a long time,” Asmussen said. “If anyone knows American horse racing, they know what Churchill Downs means to the sport. This is a very significant honor. I know the people who have been in this spot before, and been here consistently, and for us to have won the most races is a very proud accomplishment.”

Romans was the record-holder since Nov. 12, 2017 when he surpassed Hall of Famer Bill Mott, who was Churchill Downs' all-time leader for more than 31 years.

“It means so much to me,” Asmussen said. “I don't know of anyone who's fondest and earliest memories of horse racing isn't the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs. I grew up in South Texas and, as a kid, you tried to keep track of the national racing scene. We've spent a lot of time and had a tremendous amount of support to even put us in this position we are in today.

Commemorating Steve Asmussen becoming all-time leading trainer at Churchill Downs (Coady Photography)

“Horses do things for you that you aren't capable of doing on your own. In sports, you see that certain elevation of different individuals. In our sport, the horse gives the individual those elevations. Valid Expectations raised me to a level where I could compete in graded stakes races on a national level. I made numerous mistakes with him but his attitude and ability overcame it.”

Asmussen is rapidly closing on another significant career milestone. At the start of Saturday, Asmussen had 8,869 career wins, which ranked second and was 576 victories behind all-time North American win-leader Dale Baird's 9,445.

“If they don't want me to care, they need to quit keeping track,” Asmussen joked.

If Asmussen follows his trends from the last three years, he could surpass Baird's record by next Spring.

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Churchill R.E.I.N. Fund Providing COVID-19 Economic Relief

The Churchill Downs Foundation has launched the Relief for Equine Industry Needs (“R.E.I.N.”) to assist members of the racing community that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, it was announced Friday.

The R.E.I.N. Fund will specifically address the needs of backstretch communities by providing meals, micro-grants and financial assistance with emergency needs as well as the fulfillment of essential care for horses.

One of the earliest supporters of the R.E.I.N. Fund has been trainer Jack Sisterson, who announced in early May that he would donate a portion of his horse’s purse earnings to the cause.

“Horsemen are the most generous people I know,” Sisterson said. “With us being so fortunate to reopen our business, all the horsemen I talk to say, ‘I wish I could help the less fortunate.'”

Jockeys Tyler Gaffalione and Julien Leparoux and owner Skychai Racing, have also pledged to donate a portion of their earnings to the R.E.I.N. Fund.

“I made a deal with Jack at the beginning of the meet to help the cause,” Gaffalione said. “It’s such a great cause and it’s a way for us to easily give back to those less fortunate on the racetrack.”

As a result of the success of the R.E.I.N. Fund, the Churchill Downs Foundation has already aided several members of the horse racing community when they returned to Churchill Downs in mid-May. Applications for aid within the racing community can be sent to CDIFoundation@kyderby.com. An advisory committee will then review the applications.

Visit www.churchilldowns.com/horsemen/rein for more information.

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Asmussen Becomes All-Time Leading Trainer at Churchill

Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen surpassed Dale Romans as the winningest trainer in the history of Churchill Downs Friday, sending out Drop Dead Gorgeous (Strong Mandate) to win the opening race on the program. The victory was his 738th at the historic Louisville oval.

“If anyone knows American horse racing, they know what Churchill Downs means to the sport,” Asmussen said. “This is a very significant honor. I know the people who have been in this spot before, and been here consistently, and for us to have won the most races is a very proud accomplishment.” (Click for a winner’s circle interview)

Asmussen registered a quick-fire double in race two with first-time starter Hulen (Tapiture), a horse bred in Texas by his father Keith Asmussen, a former jockey and trainer, and raced by long-time clients Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt. The winner is out of a mare by Valid Expectations, who Asmussen trained for the Ackerley Brothers to win the 1996 GIII Derby Trial S. in Louisville.

Born in Gettysburg, South Dakota, Nov. 18, 1965, Asmussen took out his first trainer’s license in 1986 and saddled his first winner at Ruidoso Downs that July. His first Churchill winner came during the Spring meeting of 1993 when Snake Eyes took a $41,420 allowance on the turf beneath Pat Day as the 2-1 favorite. Asmussen first brought a string of horses to Churchill for the 1996 Fall meet and has called the track home since the fall of 1997. The first of his record 22 local training titles came at the 2001 Fall meet.

A two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer, Asmussen conditioned two winners of the GI Preakness S. in the span of three seasons, each with horses acquired privately and raced by Jess Jackson’s Stonestreet Stables in separate partnerships. Curlin (Smart Strike) turned the tables on 2007 GI Kentucky Derby hero Street Sense (Street Cry {Ire}) in that year’s Preakness S. before giving the trainer the first of seven Breeders’ Cup victories in the 2007 GI Classic at Monmouth Park. Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d’Oro) was purchased privately off her towering victory in the 2009 GI Kentucky Oaks, and returned on two weeks’ rest to beat the boys at Old Hilltop. Curlin was named Horse of the Year in 2007 and in 2008 after adding the G1 Dubai World Cup, and Rachel Alexandra made it three straight HOY titles for Asmussen in 2009. Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) capped a Horse of the Year campaign in the 2017 Classic. Asmussen was inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame in Saratoga in 2016.

Among the other top horses conditioned by Asmussen are the Heiligbrodt-owned champion sprinter and Horse of the Year finalist Mitole (Eskendereya), Eclipse Award winner Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute), Oaks winners Untapable (Tapit) and Summerly (Summer Squall)–both owned by the Winchell family–and GI Belmont S. hero Creator (Tapit). While he has yet to win the GI Kentucky Derby, Asmussen has sent out the runner-up twice with Nehro (Mineshaft, 2011); and Lookin At Lee (Lookin At Lucky, 2017). His 79 local stakes winners are second only to fellow Hall of Famer Bill Mott’s 95.

Asmussen also is a nine-time winner of the national training title in races won (2002, ’04-05, ’07-11 and ’13), including a record 650 wins in 2009. On Feb. 7, 2004, he won a North American record 10 races, including three stakes, from 16 starters at five racetracks (Delta Downs, Fair Grounds, Oaklawn Park, Sam Houston Race Park and Sunland Park).

Entering Friday’s action, Asmussen ranks second in career victories with 8,867, trailing Dale Baird (9,445) by 578 winners.

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