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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