Trainer Steve Asmussen
STEVE M. ASMUSSEN
BORN: 11/18/65, Gettysburg, SD RESIDES: Arlington, TX FAMILY: Julie, wife; Keith James, Darren Scott and Eric, sons
In 2008 Asmussen won his second consecutive Oaklawn training crown. He sent forth 33 winners from 165 starters as his horses earned $1,334,645.
Assmussen won four 2008 Oaklawn stakes, they being the Bachelor with Latana Mob, the Dixieland with Carson's Legacy and divisions of the Martha Washington with Sky Mom and Spring Fever with Classify.
He captured the Spa's 2007 title with 36 wins and wound up taking the national crown in number of wins with 487.
Asmussen broke his own record for most wins in a year on Sunday, November 16, 2008 when Prophesy won the first race at Remington Park to bring his annual count to 556, beating a record he set in 2004.
Another big event in 2008 was winning the $6 million Dubai World Cup with Curlin, reigning Horse of the Year and winner of the 2007 Arkansas Derby.
Curlin made history himself when capturing his second Jockey Club Gold Cup on September 27, 2008. With the $450,000 winner's check, the colt surpassed Cigar's North American earnings record to become the richest Notrth American-based thoroughbred in history, bringing his bankroll to $10,346,800. He increased that total with his Breeders' Cup fourth, now boasting $10,501,800 in lifetime earnings.
Asmussen battled Scott Lake much of 2007, finally gaining the overall title 487 to 485. For the year, his horses earned $23,797,138 as compared to Lake’s $9,724,556.
Not content to just send out Curlin to win the 71st running of the $1,000,000 Arkansas Derby on closing day of the 2007 Oaklawn racing season, the Texan won five races on the day. Included were the two $100,000 events on the derby undercard – Takedown in the Northern Spur and Cream Only in the InstantRacing Breeders’ Cup.
Curlin won his race by a 10 ½ lengths, a record for the winning margin in the Arkansas Derby, a fixture that began at Oaklawn in 1936.
Asmussen became the first trainer to win three Racing Festival of the South events on a single program.
All this came after Cole Norman had won the last six Spa training crowns.
Asmussen had finished second to Cole Norman in the 2006 overall meeting standings, winning 35 races as his barn accounted for $982,828 in purses.
Over the years, Asmussen has also won training titles at Lone Star Park, Keeneland, Fair Grounds, Churchill Downs, Remington, Sam Houston, Ellis Park and Retama.
In 2002 he led the nation with 407 winners including Private Emblem in the then $500,000 Arkansas Derby.
In 2004, Asmussen came on the national racing scene with a flourish, shattering Jack Van Berg’s 1976 record of 496 wins in a single season when he posted 555.
Asmussen won the 2005 national training title with 474 winners from 2,227 starts.
In 2006, Asmussen was third in winners with 241 and ninth in earnings with $7.7 million despite serving a six months’ suspension for a positive from one of his horses. The suspension ran July 2006 into early February of 2007.
“I have real good help,” he assured.
Perhaps his main man is Scott Blasi, but other assistants of late have included Kristen Crawford, Darren Fleming, Tony Mathiason and Toby Sheets.
At one time in 2008, Steve had stables in New York, Texas, Kentucky, Woodbine, Chicago and Louisiana.
He has won nine training titles in 10 years at Lone Star.
Curlin ranked the stable star, but there was the flashy youngster Kodiak Kowboy.
Such Asmussen trainees as Pyro, Appealing Zophie, Gaff, Inca King, Rated Fiesty, Rolling Sea and Zanjero have all won graded stakes of late.
Earlier, in addition to Valid Expectations and Private Emblem, there have been Lady Tak, Summerly, Real Dandy, Bwana Charlie, Effectual, Lunarpal, Chace City and Private Vow.
In other years Asmussen trained such familiar runners at Oaklawn as Snuck In and Windward Passage, winners of the Rebel Stakes; Valid Expectations, hero of the Mountain Valley; Valid Bonnet the Honeybee and Little Sister, heroine of the Carousel Breeders’ Cup.
In 2006 he saddled More Moonlight to take the American Beauty and Spring Fever, Capeside Lady the Bayakoa, Platinum Princess the Carousel and Admiral’s Arch the Northern Spur.
“I have had some big thrills with Curlin the last two years,” said Asmussen.
"A pre-Curlin one came several years ago on closing day at Lone Star. That was in 2003 when our barn had seven winners to wrap up the training title.”
Asmussen, who got his first trainer’s license in 1986, already has such a lengthy list of stakes winners, it is hard to name them.
However, he fondly remembers winning the Acorn Stakes at Belmont with Dreams Galore.That was his first grade one triumph.
At times, he will have 200 horses training either at tracks, or on the family farm – El Primero.
The El Primero Training Center in Laredo, Texas is home to the Asmussen family, as talented a group as one will find in horse racing. Steve’s mother and father Marilyn and Keith are both trainers. Steve’s brother, Cash, rode in France 19 years and was a world class jockey, are all involved in the operation of El Primero as are Cash’s wife Cheryl and Steve’s wife Julie.