Tag: remington park

Asmussen Reaches 9,000-Win Mark: ‘If It Wasn’t Important, They Wouldn’t Keep Stats’

Trainer Steve Asmussen became only the second trainer in thoroughbred racing history to win for the 9,000th time in his career, bringing home Troy Ounce in race two Friday night at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla.

“It's an awfully significant achievement,” said Asmussen. “I'm very proud, but as you know, it takes a tremendous effort from a lot of people who work for me. Will we celebrate? Heck, yeah! Every day from here on out.”

Asmussen needs 446 more victories to become the all-time winningest trainer in North American thoroughbred history. The current leader is the late Dale Baird, who went to the winner's circle 9,445 times in his career.

Asmussen had 433 wins last year and 400 the year before to put things into perspective. He has won more than 400 times in a year 10 times. His best year was 2009 when he won 650 races.

Asmussen runs multiple strings of horses at multiple tracks around the country, simultaneously. When asked how many people are employed under him he said, “I have no idea.”

Asmussen, a member of the National Racing Hall of Fame, won his first race in 1986 at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico as a 20-year-old. He said at that time he had no idea his career would blossom into what it has.

“Back then I was just worried about getting win number two,” he said. “That didn't come until the next year at Birmingham in Alabama.”

Since then Asmussen has started more than 43,000 horses in races. Now he has his eyes firmly focused on the No. 1 spot.

“It would be very significant to be the all-time winningest trainer,” Asmussen said. “Been thinking about that ever since they started keeping track of wins. That's why you send them out, to win. If it wasn't important, they wouldn't keep stats.”

When he started out, Asmussen was a jockey. He didn't quite win 9,000 however, growing too big to continue that career.

“I won 63 races in two and half years as a rider,” Asmussen said with a laugh. “We've been talking about this 9,000th win in the barn all week and wondering what a graphics map would look like if you marked all the places where horses have won.”

Jockey Stewart Elliott was in the saddle for Asmussen, booting home Troy Ounce for the win in the seven-furlong sprint on the dirt with $7,500 claiming rivals, all searching for their third career score. Troy Ounce, the betting favorite at 4-5 odds, won by three lengths and paid $3.60 to win, $2.60 to place and $2.20 to show. He covered the distance in 1:23.65 seconds over a fast track. The 4-year-old colt by Goldencents, out of the Eddington mare Lazaria Lass, earned $5,502 from the purse for owners L and N Racing of Tulsa, Okla.

Troy Ounce in the Remington Park winner's circle, with Stewart Elliott aboard

Troy Ounce improved his record to three wins from 18 starts and has now earned $86,472. He was bred in Kentucky by Martha Jane Mulholland and 3480 Equine.

Asmussen went into Friday needing two wins to hit the 9,000 mark. His 8,999th victory came in the seventh race at Churchill Downs when first-time starter Stayin' Out Late, a son of leading sire Tapit, won a 2-year-old maiden race under Ricardo Santana Jr. for Three Chimneys Farm and Harrell Ventures. He was one of 10 Asmussen runners competing at three different tracks on Friday.

Remington Park racing continues Saturday, Sept. 19 with nine races beginning at 7:07 p.m. CT.

The post Asmussen Reaches 9,000-Win Mark: ‘If It Wasn’t Important, They Wouldn’t Keep Stats’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Floyd Wethey Rides 1,000th Winner Thursday At Remington Park

Jockey Floyd Wethey, Jr. won for the 1,000th time in his career Thursday night, winning the fourth race in wire-to-wire fashion aboard Elijah Anet at Remington Park.

Wethey gives credit for reaching the milestone to the support of those around him and riding for 14 years, relatively without injury.

“I started riding when I was 17 and I had always hoped to reach milestones like this,” said Wethey, who calls both Bluejacket, Okla. and Oklahoma City his homes. “It's a great milestone and not a whole lot of people do it. I've had a lot of help. I thank the good Lord that I have so many friends and family that support me.”

Wethey went straight to the lead in the irons of Elijah Anet and made every pole a winning one in the 5 1/2-furlong race for claiming $7,500 Oklahoma-bred horses, 3-years-old and older. They covered the distance with fractions of :21.98 seconds for the first quarter-mile, :45.48 for the half-mile and :57.93 for five furlongs before winning in a time of 1:04.64. The betting public sent the 4-year-old gelding by Silver City, out of the Anet mare Sister Anet, off at 5-2 odds and he paid $7.80 to win, $4.40 to place and $3.80 to show.

“I've ridden a lot of great horses that gave me thrills, winning Oklahoma Classics races and other stakes,” said Wethey. “I had Reel Chrome, Steal Your Face and Okie Ride and they all are very special. Hey, I even get attached to the claimers. Reel Chrome, she was tough as nails.”

He will certainly always remember one claimer, Elijah Anet.

“The meet has been great so far; (agent) Bubba (Wood) has gotten me on some good horses and I've been lucky enough to win a few,” he said. “Looking back, I've won two or three riding titles at Claremore (Will Rogers Downs) and three or four in Tulsa (Fair Meadows. I'm just going to keep on keeping on.”

Wethey began riding in 2007, winning 21 races his first year and $198,195. He quickly boosted that to 83 wins the next year with his horses winning $1,342,941. Twelve of the 14 years of riding his horses have surpassed $1 million in earnings. His biggest year came in 2018 when they banked $2,040,568. He has surpassed 100 wins in a year twice – 109 in 2009 and 103 in 2017.

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Several Kentucky Derby Runners Nominated To Oklahoma Derby

A couple of horses that competed in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby are strong possibilities for the Grade 3, $200,000 Oklahoma Derby that will be run on Sunday, Sept. 27, at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Stakes coordinator Don Thompson said Major Fed and Necker Island are two of the contenders from the Kentucky Derby that are possible to be in the gate for the 32nd running of the Oklahoma Derby. Two other Kentucky Derby competitors were nominated for the race as well – NY Traffic and Mr. Big News, who ran third to Authentic and Tiz the Law.

“NY Traffic is either going to the Preakness or coming here,” said Thompson.

A news story broke this week that NY Traffic threw a horseshoe during the Kentucky Derby and could improve off that finish of eighth. He went off at 12-1 odds in the Kentucky Derby.

Among other horses that Thompson said were possibilities for the Oklahoma Derby were Avant Garde, Dean Martini and Shared Sense.

Here's a look at those most possible for the Oklahoma Derby, contested at 1 1/8 miles, the headline event on a stakes-laden program on the final Sunday afternoon of this month:

Major Fed
Owned by Lloyd Madison Farms IV, trained by Gregory Foley… Went off 43-1 in the Kentucky Derby and had a troubled trip. During the race, he was jostled and then stuck in traffic most the way in the 15-horse field. Prior to the “run for the roses,” this 3-year-old colt by Ghostzapper, out of the Smart Strike mare, Bobby's Babe, was a maiden winner, but had been extremely competitive in several graded stakes races. He ran second to Shared Sense in the Grade 3, $300,000 Indiana Derby on July 8, a strong closing fourth to Wells Bayou in the Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby on March 21 at Fair Grounds (NY Traffic ran second in that race), and second in the Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 15 at Fair Grounds to Modernist. James Graham had the mount in the Kentucky Derby. He rode Lone Sailor to an Oklahoma Derby win in 2018.

Necker Island
Owned by Raymond Daniels, Wayne Scherr and Will Harbut Racing, trained by Chris Hartman… Went off at 49-1 in the Kentucky Derby and finished ninth after an eight-wide trip down the lane. Jockey Miguel Mena rode the 3-year-old colt in Louisville, Ky. Prior to the Kentucky Derby, he had finished third in the Grade 3, $300,000 Indiana Derby to Shared Sense and third in the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby to Art Collector, who figured to be one of the favorites in the Kentucky Derby, but was scratched. This son of Hard Spun, out of the Mr. Greeley mare Jenny's Rocket, garnered a lot of the spotlight in Kentucky with his African American owners, Daniels and Greg Harbut, who got their message to the public about the importance of equality in America, and in the sport of horse racing.

Shared Sense
Owned by Godolphin Racing  and trained by Brad Cox, this colt by Street Sense, out of the Bernardini mare, Collective, won the Grade 3, $300,000 Indiana Derby and has been first or second in five-of-nine starts lifetime. He has not been out since running fifth to Art Collector in the $200,000 Ellis Park Derby. Florent Geroux has been his regular rider. When Godolphin took this horse off the Kentucky Derby trail, Brad Cox said he would train the horse up to a fall campaign with the Oklahoma Derby as a consideration, according to the Paulick Report.

Avant Garde
Owned by Gelfenstein Farm of Ocala, Fla., trained by Jesus Lander. This gelded son of Tonalist, out of the Afleet Alex mare Dancing Afleet, is riding a four-race win streak at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Fla. He has been winning easily, but all four victories have come in lesser company than he would face in a stakes race. Jockey Luis Reyes has been his rider in all four wins.

Dean Martini
Owned by Raise the BAR Racing and David Bernsen, who also owns a computer wagering business in Point Loma, Calif. Trained by Tom Amoss. This 3-year-old gelding by Cairo Prince, out of the Friends Lake mare Soundwave, won the Grade 3, $500,000 Ohio Derby at Thistledown on June 27 with jockey James Graham aboard. He followed that with a sixth place run in the Ellis Park Derby.

Horses nominated to the Oklahoma Derby who already reside and train at Remington Park include: Liam, a maiden who was second, beaten two lengths, in a maiden special event here Aug. 29; Rowdy Yates, a two-time stakes winner here as a 2-year-old in 2019, he was fourth in both the Ohio Derby and the Ellis Park Derby this summer; and Tonaltalitarian, broke his maiden here on Sept. 10 by 3-1/4 lengths and is trained by Donnie Von Hemel, a three-time winner of the Oklahoma Derby.

Remington Park racing continues Wednesday thru Saturday, Sept. 16-19, with the first event nightly at 7:07pm.

Past performances of Oklahoma Derby nominations

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Did Broberg’s Tweets Cost Him Stalls At Remington Park?

Karl Broberg is convinced his Twitter account is to blame for him not being able to stable at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, Okla.

“They have exercised their private property rights to deny me stalls and they really won't give me a straight answer as to why,” Broberg said of Remington Park management. “It's because of my social media nonsense when I spoke horribly of the way it was managed. I never said anything on there that was that offensive and I sure didn't say anything that wasn't true.”

Broberg took to Twitter to express his frustration when Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, shut down in July after a racing office employee tested positive for COVID-19 and there was little communication between track management and horsemen about when racing might resume.


Both Lone Star Park and Remington Park are owned by the Chickasaw Nation's Global Gaming Solutions.

Broberg has also criticized the horsemen's organization at Remington Park, the Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma, that he referred to as “the whiniest bunch of (deleted) in the world.”

“I'm a little outspoken,” said Broberg, a former advertising executive who has been the leading North American trainer by wins from 2014-'19 and indirectly oversees several strings from his Dallas-area home. “I'm seldom there. My crew is good and quiet. We try to do it the right way. To the best of my knowledge I'm the only guy who's ever been ruled off who has never been suspended. I'm coming up on 4,000 career wins without one suspension.”

Remington had excluded Broberg in 2013 after The Jockey Club suspended his privileges for having three medication violations in 2011 and one additional violation in 2012. When he fought the Remington ban in court, the judge's ruling in favor of the racetrack exclusion said the Texas Racing Commission had previously caught a vet going into a stall in Broberg's barn carrying four loaded syringes. The vet was charged but Broberg was not.

Broberg is allowed to enter horses at Remington and he said he is taking 18 horses to a training center 15 miles from the track.

“I'm allowed to haul in to the receiving barn,” he said. “But the way we run our program – school in the paddock, stand in the gate – it becomes a logistical nightmare.”

Last year, Broberg won 57 races from 289 starters at the Oklahoma City track.

“Remington has always been such an integral part of my life, even before I started training,” said Broberg, who took out his trainer's license in 2009. “It sucks. It's so unfortunate. This is costing them money, a lot of starts. The first two days they had full entries,but the next two days were horrible.”

With about 150 horses in training, Broberg maintains strings in Louisiana at Louisiana Downs and at Evangeline Downs, where he won six races from six starters on Aug. 19. Those Evangeline Downs horses will go to Delta Downs when the meet ends on Saturday. He also has horses at Canterbury Park in Minnesota and Prairie Meadows in Iowa.

So far in 2020, he's won 236 races from 1,187 starts, a 20% winning percentage.

“I intend on sending some horses to Kentucky and I want to send a few to Belmont,” Broberg added. “I'm going to try to establish myself at Hawthorne and use that as the replacement for Remington Park.”

 

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