hall of fame trainer | Horse Racing Free Tips

New York Turf Writers Cup Renamed in Honor of Hall of Fame Trainer Jonathan Sheppard

The GI New York Turf Writers Cup steeplechase stakes has been renamed in honor of Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard, the New York Racing Association announced Friday.

The $150,000 Jonathan Sheppard for 4-year-olds and up going 2 3/8 miles is slated for Thursday, Aug. 19 during the summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course.

“It seems fitting that one of the premier steeplechase stakes in the country is going to be named in honor of Jonathan Sheppard,” said Bill Gallo, Director of Racing for the National Steeplechase Association. “He has been the dominant force in American steeplechase racing for decades and has always represented the sport in a positive way, particularly at Saratoga, where his success has gained national attention. We thank NYRA and the New York Turf Writers for honoring Jonathan in this fashion.”

The 80-year-old Sheppard announced his retirement from American racing in early January. He capped an incredible 56-year racing career in which he was the leading National Steeplechase Association trainer 26 times, campaigning 15 Eclipse award winners over hurdles and flat ground.

Sheppard made an indelible mark on New York racing, winning at least one race at Saratoga for 47 consecutive years from 1969-2015. He was also the leading Saratoga trainer in 1984 and 1985. Fittingly, Sheppard earned a reputation for dominating the New York Turf Writers Cup, figuratively stamping his name on a race he won 15 times before the announcement that his name will literally be synonymous with the contest.

“Jonathan Sheppard's long and storied career, in particular his accomplishments at Saratoga Race Course, will be remembered for years to come,” said NYRA President and CEO Dave O'Rourke. “His decades of commitment and success within the sport make this a well-deserved honor. It's only fitting that he is celebrated with a stakes race at the Spa in light of his unprecedented streak of 47 years with at least one winner at Saratoga.”

The Ashwell, England native is the winningest trainer in U.S. jump racing-history and is one of only two trainers to win championships with both flat and jump horses. Equibase credits him with a career ledger of 3,426 wins with 3,099 runner-up efforts and 2,975 third-place finishes in 20,997 starts with earnings of more than $88 million.

In flat races, Sheppard produced impressive winners as well, with Informed Decision winning the 2009 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint and Forever Together capturing the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf the year prior.

A 1990 Hall of Fame inductee, Sheppard continued building on a historic legacy for the next three decades. In his final year of training in 2020, Sheppard finished atop the NSA trainer standings, besting runner-up Jack Fisher, who had been the leading trainer nine years running.

The post New York Turf Writers Cup Renamed in Honor of Hall of Fame Trainer Jonathan Sheppard appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Hall Of Famer Asmussen Prepares To Defend His Title At Sam Houston

Ushering 2020 out the door was a welcome relief for pretty much everyone in the universe. The challenges from COVID-19 had a monumental impact on all sports and horseracing was affected greatly. However, Steve Asmussen, who will return to defend his training title at Sam Houston Race Park when the 2021 season begins on Friday, Jan. 8, had an amazingly good year amid the chaos.

Texas has always been important to the conditioner, who was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2016. His parents, Keith and Marilyn, operate a training center in Laredo; Asmussen and his family reside in Arlington and many of Asmussen's longtime owners are Texans. He has won the training title at Sam Houston 12 times and topped the owner standings in six seasons. On Friday's opening night card, Asmussen has entered nine runners and another six will run Saturday evening.

Sam Houston Race Park will kick off the 2021 meet with its highest purse structure since it opened in 1994. A total of $12 million will be offered for the 46-day season which runs through Saturday, April 3. House Bill 2463, passed by the 86th Texas Legislature, will contribute $25 million annually to the Texas horse racing industry, split equally between Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse interests.

“The supplement to the purses gives us a wonderful product,” stated Asmussen. “The Bill allocates tax revenue from equine sales in Texas to support Texas racing. We need to promote this as a viable alternative to depending on casino revenue. The substantial purse increases have attracted new horsemen, which is great.”

Asmussen won 422 races in 2020 topping all North American Thoroughbred trainers in both wins and earnings. His horses earned $20,204,064 with Brad Cox ranking second with earnings of $18,983,832. Karl Broberg, who will also be prominent this season at Sam Houston Race Park, was the second-leading trainer by wins with 327 victories throughout 2020.

“Obviously, we were very proud to lead our sport by both money and wins,” said Asmussen. “The closures and purse cuts were tough on everyone. Our success is based on our motto that “everything matters” and we adhered to that with every member of our team. Our approach and consistency did not waver in 2020.”

Asmussen has won the past two editions of the Grade 3, $300,000 Houston Ladies Classic. In 2019, the victory went to Bloom Racing Stable's Midnight Bisou, who was honored as the 2019 Eclipse Award winning female and earned $7.4 million in her illustrious career. Last year's champion, Lady Apple, is on target to defend her title for owners Phoenix Thoroughbred III and KatieRich Stables.

“It's hard to put into words how much I appreciate the loyalty of my owners,” said Asmussen.

Asmussen is off to his usual fast start in the New Year, currently running horses at Turfway Park, Delta Downs and Fair Grounds in New Orleans. He will have a full barn at Oaklawn Park when it opens on January 22. The 55-year-old horseman counts on longtime assistant, Pablo Ocampo, to oversee the day-to-day operation in Houston.

“I'm looking forward to the 2021 meet at Sam Houston,” said Asmussen. “I have always been pleased with their track surfaces.”

Sam Houston Race Park will welcome back a solid core of horsemen including Karl Broberg, Danny Pish, Kari Craddock, Mindy Willis, Bret Calhoun, Ronnie Cravens, Mike Neatherlin, Allen Dupuy and Robertino Diodoro. New conditioners for the 2021 Thoroughbred meet include Todd Fincher, Frank Lucarelli and Jonathan Wong.

The post Hall Of Famer Asmussen Prepares To Defend His Title At Sam Houston appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Steve Asmussen Named 2020 Recipient Of KTO Warner L. Jones Horseman Of The Year Award

Steve Asmussen — who this year became Churchill Downs' all-time win leader and only the second trainer to achieve 9,000 career victories — is the 2020 recipient of the Louisville-based Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners' Warner L. Jones Jr. Horseman of the Year Award.

The award recognizes individuals for outstanding contributions to Kentucky racing and sharing the passion exemplified by Jones, who spent 50 years on the Churchill Downs board, including eight as chairman during the iconic track's resurgence. Warner Jones — the first and so far only breeder of a Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Breeders' Cup winner — was the inaugural award winner in 1988, six years before his death.

“Everything my whole family has is because of horse racing,” Asmussen said upon being informed he was the award recipient. “I won the Warner L. Jones Horseman of the Year Award – that has a beautiful ring to it. For anybody to be involved in horse racing, I think the greatest compliment you can be given is to be considered a horseman. It is what we strive for. It is something I, as well as my whole family, would be proud to be acknowledged as. The list of past recipients is beyond impressive and a group that I'm very proud to be a part of. That is cool.”

The Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners is an educational and social organization dedicated to the betterment of racing in the state. Membership is open not only to owners but anyone interested in the sport, including prospective owners.

Because of the COVID-19 health crisis, the KTO was forced to cancel its traditional November awards gala, with Asmussen and the other 2020 KTO award winners to be feted when circumstances permit an in-person event in 2021. KTO president Loren Hebel-Osborne said it was important to still recognize an individual for exceptional work in horse racing.

“As we all know this racing game ebbs and flows; we do not want Covid-19 to further penalize any members or racing entities who may otherwise be having a banner year in racing,” Hebel-Osborne said. “We weren't about to let Covid-19 cancel one more thing. In fact, I would say to win an award under these circumstances really shows extraordinary skill! We want to celebrate, elevate and honor these accomplishments especially in this most challenging environment.

“Steve is the embodiment of what the Warner L. Jones Jr. Horseman of the Year Award was created to recognize. Not just his record-setting numbers while playing at all levels of the game but just passing the eyeball test with how his horses always seem to glow good health and being well-cared for.”

Born into a horse-racing family as the younger son of Keith and Marilyn Asmussen, Steve spent parts of three seasons as a jockey before he returned from an injury too big to ride. He worked as an assistant trainer to his mother before starting his own stable with a handful of horses in 1986, winning with his 12th starter: Victory's Halo in a $2,600 maiden race at New Mexico's Ruidoso Downs.

Through Dec. 2, Asmussen had won 9,104 races, trailing only the late Dale Baird's 9,445. Those victories include training Horses of the Year Curlin (2007-2008), Rachel Alexandra (2009) and Gun Runner (2017), as well as winning the 2007 (Curlin) and 2009 (Rachel Alexandra) Preakness and the 2016 Belmont Stakes (Creator). His seven Breeders' Cup triumphs include the Classic with Curlin in 2007 and Gun Runner in 2017, with Curlin also taking the $5 million Dubai World Cup in 2008 and Gun Runner the $16 million Pegasus World Cup to cap his career in 2018. Rachel Alexandra became the only 3-year-old filly to beat older males in winning Saratoga's historic Whitney Handicap in 2009.

Asmussen's more than $342.7 million in career purse earnings are second all-time to Todd Pletcher's $397 million, according to Equibase statistics. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2016. Racing secretaries everywhere appreciate how much he comes to run — no one comes close to his more than 44,000 career starts.

Asmussen's 650 victories in 2009 are a record and mark one of four years in which he's surpassed 500 wins. He is the all-time win-leader at Lone Star Park and Remington Park in addition to Churchill Downs, where he replaced former Warner Jones recipient Dale Romans with the track record with victory No. 738 under the Twin Spires on June 12 this year. At Kentucky tracks, Asmussen has won a record 24 meet training titles at Churchill Downs as well as three apiece at Keeneland and Ellis Park.

On top of it, Asmussen is also an owner of note, his horses having won almost 1,200 races and more than $18.7 million dating to 2000, according to Equibase.

Past Warner L. Jones Jr. Horseman of the Year Award recipients

The post Steve Asmussen Named 2020 Recipient Of KTO Warner L. Jones Horseman Of The Year Award appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Asmussen Honored with KY Thoroughbred Owners’ Warner Jones Horseman of the Year Award

Steve Asmussen–who this year became Churchill Downs’ all-time win leader and only the second trainer to achieve 9,000 career victories–is the 2020 recipient of the Louisville-based Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners’ Warner L. Jones Jr. Horseman of the Year Award.

The award recognizes individuals for outstanding contributions to Kentucky racing and sharing the passion exemplified by Jones, who spent 50 years on the Churchill Downs board, including eight as chairman during the iconic track’s resurgence. Warner Jones–the first and so far only breeder of a Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Breeders’ Cup winner–was the inaugural award winner in 1988, six years before his death.

“Everything my whole family has is because of horse racing,” Asmussen said. “I won the Warner L. Jones Horseman of the Year Award–that has a beautiful ring to it. For anybody to be involved in horse racing, I think the greatest compliment you can be given is to be considered a horseman. It is what we strive for. It is something I, as well as my whole family, would be proud to be acknowledged as. The list of past recipients is beyond impressive and a group that I’m very proud to be a part of. That is cool.”

Through Dec. 2, Asmussen has won 9,104 races, trailing only the late Dale Baird’s 9,445. Those victories include training Horses of the Year Curlin (2007-2008), Rachel Alexandra (2009) and Gun Runner (2017).

Asmussen’s more than $342.7 million in career purse earnings are second all-time to Todd Pletcher’s $397 million, according to Equibase statistics. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2016.

The post Asmussen Honored with KY Thoroughbred Owners’ Warner Jones Horseman of the Year Award appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post