Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Fleming key to success of Asmussen’s stable
Darren Fleming might have pursued a jockey career had he not signed on to work for Steve Asmussen in the early 1990s. Apparently, there were just two obstacles keeping him from the saddle.
“I had a lack of talent – and [I had] excess weight,” deadpanned Fleming.
It’s that kind of wit – coupled with a dedication to his family, his role as an assistant trainer, and the horses in his care – that has made Fleming a backstretch favorite at the Oaklawn, Lone Star Park, and Remington meets, where he oversees divisions for Asmussen. It’s also made him one of the most important people in one of the most powerful stables in North America.
“We would not have the success that we have if it wasn’t for Darren,” said Asmussen, who is now in the Hall of Fame.
Fleming on Sunday will wrap up arguably the barn’s best-ever meet at Remington. Asmussen went over $2 million in local stable earnings Tuesday to set a trainer record at Remington – on the same program in which he tied another record by winning five consecutive races. There’s one more Remington record performance on the horizon – Asmussen will take down his 13th training title Sunday. The feat caps a meet in which the stable also won four stakes on the Oklahoma Derby Day program in September, including the main event with Untrapped.
“I was happy he finally got his derby,” Fleming said. “He’s tried hard all year.”
Fleming will be hoping for a final run of stakes success at the meet Sunday, when Asmussen sends out 10 starters in five of the six stakes on the card, including Combatant and Flat Lucky in the $400,000 Springboard Mile.
Fleming is a 49-year-old native of New Orleans who grew up in racing. His father, Bill Fleming, was a jockey, and his uncle, Walter Hodges, also rode and later trained.
“I wanted to be a jockey, too,” Darren Fleming said. “I did it for about three months. I had one career win. I rode Quarter Horses. The plan was to ride those because the weight was higher. It was just something I wanted to do.”
Despite the short stint in the saddle, it led to a career path for Fleming.
“I was in the [jockeys’] room with Steve’s dad, when his dad was riding in Minnesota,” Fleming said.
It was a key connection. Asmussen said it was in Minnesota, at Canterbury in 1988, where he first met Fleming.
A friendship was formed, with Asmussen just a few years into his training career. Fleming was galloping horses at the time and spent his afternoons working as a valet. He would make his way to different tracks, and among his riders were Robby Albarado and Corey Lanerie.
“One of my first riders, Scott Stevens, was in Minnesota,” Fleming said. “He was a leading rider up there and was nice enough to let me have his tack and kind of taught me what to do.”
Fleming eventually started galloping horses for Asmussen, in the early days of Remington, and also got on some horses for the barn at Oaklawn.
“We expanded to a point where I approached him one day and said, ‘What’s it going to cost me to make it full time,’ ” Asmussen said. “It’s one of the best decisions I ever made. Darren – what he’s done for us, for the whole team, is immeasurable. Personally, it’s unbelievable. What a sounding board – a rational mind for me and a confidant for me.”
Fleming said the Asmussen operation was a perfect fit for him from the start. During the summers, he travels with stakes horses and this winter he will be back at Oaklawn, where Asmussen will be seeking his ninth title. It was in Hot Springs, Ark., in February when Fleming greeted Gun Runner, the eventual winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic who came to the Oaklawn division to launch his season in the Razorback Handicap.
“It’s nice being around all the great horses and traveling.” Fleming said. “I’ve always liked to travel, and that’s been good.
“I respect Steve as a horseman. I don’t know if I could work with anybody else after working with him. We were friends first and then we’ve always been able to keep the two separate.”
Fleming said Asmussen quietly is a very generous person. He said when the trainer won his first Eclipse Award he had replicas of the trophy made for each of his assistants.
Asmussen said it’s always been a team effort.
“We’ve all done this together, and I think Darren has probably made more personal sacrifices than anybody, with his family, being on the road all the time,” Asmussen said. “Being a parent, I have a little feel for it.
“I’ll eternally be grateful to Darren.”
Jockey Ramon Vazquez had a 20-win advantage in the rider standings heading into the final weekend of racing Friday, while Danny Caldwell led all owners with 36 wins through Thursday.
Alex Birzer, who is sixth in the standings at Remington, was recently named a finalist for the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award to be announced by Santa Anita in February.