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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.

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Redeemed Relocated To Century Acres Farm In Texas

Redeemed, a Grade 2-winning and Grade 1-placed son of Include, has been relocated to Century Acres Farm in Hempstead, Texas.

A leading sire in Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic region, Redeemed has sired the earners of more than $3 million. He will stand for a $2,000 fee as property of Teo Mallet.

On the track, Redeemed hit the board in 12 of his 13 starts with eight wins and $832,140 in earnings. As a sprinter, he finished second in the Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes going 6 1/2 furlongs at Saratoga, and going a route of ground, he won the Oklahoma Derby, G3 Discovery Handicap, G3 Greenwood Cup Stakes and G2 Brooklyn Handicap. The latter two were both contested at 1 1/2 miles, and his 2:28.01 clocking in the Greenwood Cup established a track record at Parx Racing. Redeemed also ran third in the G1 Donn Handicap.

Redeemed's leading runners include Saint Main Event, a stakes-placed earner of nearly $300,000, and Redeem My Heart, a stakes-placed earner of nearly $150,000.

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Competitive Edge Relocated To Valor Farm In Texas

Competitive Edge, a Grade 1 winner and nationally ranked first- and second-crop sire over the past two years, was purchased by Douglas Scharbauer to stand at Valor Farm in Pilot Point, Texas.

The son of Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver previously stood at Ashford Stud in Kentucky. His 2021 fee will be $5,000.

Bred by WinStar Farm LLC and sold for $750,000 as a 2-year-old, Competitive Edge broke his maiden at first asking by more than 10 lengths at Saratoga Race Course. Then in just his second career start, he romped to a 5 3/4-length win in the historic Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes, also at Saratoga.

His win streak continued as a 3-year-old, when in consecutive starts he won the Tamarac Stakes at Gulfstream Park and the G3 Pat Day Mile Stakes at Churchill Downs, stopping the timer at 1:34.18. All told, he earned $519,280 on the track.

Competitive Edge, who also covered mares in the Southern Hemisphere while with Ashford, was North America's sixth-ranked first-crop sire with more than $1.3 million in progeny earnings in 2019. He is currently ranked among the top 15 second-crop sires, with total progeny earnings of nearly $3.6 million thorough early December.

He is represented by 12 stakes horses, including Saratoga stakes winners Fierce Lady and My Italian Rabbi, Grade 2- and Grade 3-placed Reagan's Edge and Grade 3-placed Edgeway.

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‘Truly The Horse Of A Lifetime’: Grade 1 Winner Congaree Dies At Age 22

Multiple Grade 1 winner Congaree was euthanized due to the infirmities of old age on Sunday, Nov. 22, at Valor Farm near Pilot Point, Texas, where he had been standing prior to being pensioned earlier this year.

Owned by Janice McNair, who, with her late husband Bob, bred and raced Congaree in the name of their Stonerside Stable, Congaree was one of a handful of horses the McNairs retained after selling their farm, training center, and bloodstock to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum in October of 2008 in order to devote more time to their NFL franchise, the Houston Texans.

“Congaree was such a special horse,” said Janice McNair. “I am so grateful for all the many happy memories Congaree gave us. He was so unique, and had the most loving personality. He was a delight to be around, and it was always such a thrill to watch him run. Congaree was truly the horse of a lifetime for us.”

Trained by Bob Baffert, the chestnut son of Arazi out of Mari's Sheba raced 25 times, from age two to age six, including an amazing streak of 22 consecutive starts in graded stakes, beginning with a win in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial in 2001 in his stakes debut. Overall, Congaree won five Grade 1 stakes, from seven to 10 furlongs, and five other graded stakes, while placing in another six, including the 2001 Kentucky Derby and Preakness. His time for the one-mile split in the Derby remains the co-second fastest mile in the classic's history. Congaree also ran the fastest dirt mile in North America in 2002, winning the G1 Cigar Mile Handicap at Aqueduct in 1:33.11. He came back to win that race again in 2003 and remains the only two-time winner of the Cigar Mile. Congaree was undefeated at Aqueduct, winning three Grade 1s and a Grade 2. Overall, he competed at ten tracks in five states coast to coast.

“He was just a special horse,” said Baffert. “We had gotten to know the McNairs after training Chilukki for them, but it was through Congaree that we really got to know the whole family, and we made some great memories. Congaree was a really fast horse, and could carry his speed. His Kentucky Derby performance was one of the best, he set a blistering pace for the mile and hung in gamely. Another race that stands out in my memory was his Hollywood Gold Cup win in 2003. He just destroyed the competition. We raced all over the country with him, and it was just so much fun to show up with a horse like Congaree.

“First time I saw him, he really caught my eye,” Baffert continued. “I was looking at all these well-bred yearlings at Stonerside and saw him in a paddock nearby, and I said 'Wow, can I take that chestnut? I'll trade you back one of these Danzigs for him.' He didn't have the most perfect conformation, but he made up for it with heart. He was a real noble horse, sweet, kind, just a great personality.”

Congaree barely survived a difficult birth, presenting at 152 pounds – well above average size, especially for a first foal. Sickly and confined to stall rest due to several broken ribs, he quickly became a staff favorite with his friendly personality. Janice McNair remembers feeding him peppermints on the many visits to Kentucky the couple made from their Houston home.

“Congaree loved his peppermints and knew what the rattle of a candy wrapper meant at an early age. He especially seemed to bond with my husband Bob. The two had a special connection, and I know Bob got tremendous joy watching him run. He was such a character, just a very special horse.”

Retired to stud at Adena Springs in Kentucky, he was later moved to New York and eventually to Texas. In total, Congaree has sired 13 stakes winners from 317 starters, including six graded or group winners, with Irish highweighted filly Maoineach and Grade 1 winners Jeranimo ($1,525,364), Don't Tell Sophia ($1,382,479), and Killer Graces among his leading runners. As a broodmare sire, his daughters include the dams of Grade 2 winner and classics-placed Homerique and 2020 Group 3 winner New Treasure (IRE).

“Congaree was the epitome of what we hoped to accomplish with the Stonerside breeding program,” said John Adger, longtime racing and bloodstock manager for the McNairs. “It was fitting he was our first Grade 1 homebred, as his dam and granddam were part of the purchase of the Elmendorf broodmare band of Jack Kent Cooke in 1997 – an acquisition we considered the cornerstone of the breeding program. Congaree, in fact, earned back nearly the entire cost of that investment with his race earnings. He always gave 100 percent in every race. He was an Eclipse Award finalist three times – Horse of the Year, champion sprinter, and champion older horse.”

“Congaree had so much class,” said Ken Carson, general manager of Valor Farm. “He was a pleasure to be around, an easy-going horse who certainly loved his mints.”

“I am very grateful to all the people who played a part in his life – all our Stonerside staff, Bob Baffert and his team, our friends and family who traveled the country with us to watch him race, and to his many loyal fans who reached out to us over the years,” said Janice McNair. “He's been at two great farms here in Texas – first Will Farish's Lane's End Texas under the excellent care of Danny Shifflett, then after Lane's End closed, we were fortunate to be able to move him to Douglas Scharbauer's Valor Farm. We are especially grateful to Farm Manager Donny Denton and the entire crew at Valor for the wonderful care they have given Congaree. We are honored that he has been buried in the cemetery at Valor alongside so many of the great horses owned by the Scharbauer family.”

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