Asmussen eclipses 8,000 career wins
Hall of Fame trainer and nine-time Oaklawn Park champion Steve Asmussen recorded his 8,000th career North American victory when Lookin At Lee captured Saturday’s third race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., under six-time Oaklawn leading rider Ricardo Santana Jr.
According to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization, Asmussen has 8,006 career North American victories, trailing only the late Dale Baird
(9,445). Asmussen, 52, saddled his first winner in 1986.
Asmussen entered Thursday with
7,995 career North American victories and figured to reach the milestone over the weekend since he had 39 horses entered Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Churchill Downs and Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie in Texas. Asmussen, who also has a division in York, began Saturday with 7,999 career North American victories.
“Obviously, we’re very proud of the accomplishment,” Asmussen told TVG Sunday. “It’s just a tremendous amount of work from a lot of passionate people I’m very grateful to.”
The trainer’s 7,000th career North American victory came April 1, 2015, at Oaklawn with Drama Coach, who was ridden by Santana.
Asmussen reached 8,000 career worldwide victories Friday at Lone Star, with two of the wins coming in 2008 in the United Arab Emirates with twotime Horse of the Year Curlin. One of those victories was the Grade 1 $6 million Dubai World Cup. He saddled Curlin to win Oaklawn’s Grade 3 $300,000 Rebel Stakes and Grade 2 $1 million Arkansas Derby in 2007.
All nine of Asmussen’s training titles at Oaklawn have come since 2007. He has
583 career victories in Hot Springs since
1996. Darren Fleming oversees Asmussen’s Oaklawn division.
The Asmussen-trained Westfest gave Santana his 1,000th career North American victory April 12 at Oaklawn. Lookin At Lee ($15) was third in last year’s Arkansas Derby before running second in the Kentucky Derby.
Lookin at Lee was among two horses beaten by City of Light in the Grade 2
$750,000 Oaklawn Handicap for older horses on April 14. Sonneteer, Lookin At Lee and Malibu Max finished fourth, fifth and sixth in the race.
Sonneteer finished second to Lookin at Lee on Saturday. Malibu Max won the $50,000 Paul Bunyan Stakes for sprinters Saturday at Canterbury Park in Minnesota.
City of Light worked a half-mile in :47 Sunday morning at Santa Anita Park in California. It was the colt’s first breeze since winning the Oaklawn Handicap.
Hawaakom, seventh in the Oaklawn Handicap, also finished second Friday in the Grade 2 $400,000 Alysheba Stakes at Churchill Downs to surpass $1 million in career earnings. Hawaakom won the Grade 3 $500,000 Razorback Handicap Feb. 19 at Oaklawn.
Asmussen and Santana teamed up again for a win in the Grade $200,000 Steve Sexton Mile Stakes Sunday at Lone Star. Bee Jersey won the fastest mile race of the 2018 Oaklawn live racing meeting
and breezed to a front-running 5 ½-length victory on Sunday.
Bee Jersey races for breeder/ owner Charles Fipke and Asmussen. Sunday marked his American stakes debut after winning two allowance races this year by a combined 13 ¾ front-running lengths.
Under Santana Jr., Bee Jersey ran the distance over a fast track in 1:36.78 and paid $4.20 as the heavy favorite. Grade 1 winner Girvin finished second, a neck ahead of multiple Oaklawn allowance winner Shotgun Kowboy.
Bee Jersey ran a mile in 1:36.58 to win his 4-year-old debut by six lengths Jan. 20 at Oaklawn, then was a 7 ¾-length winner April
14 at Keeneland Race Course in Kentucky.
Bee Jersey, a son of Jersey Town, made his first four career starts in the United Arab Emirates. He ran 15th in last year’s UAE Derby. Sunday’s victory was Bee Jersey’s fourth in nine starts overall to push his career earnings to $326,293. Bee Jersey is 4-10 in five career American starts. Last year’s Steve Sexton Mile winner, Mor Spirit, was coming off a victory in Oaklawn’s
$250,000 Essex Handicap. Asmussen and Santana also won the Grade 2 $200,000 Eight Belles Stakes for 3-year-old filly sprinters Friday at Churchill Downs with favored Mia Mischief ($5), coming off a blowout victory in the $150,000 Purple Martin Stakes on March 24 at Oaklawn. She also ran second in the $125,000 Dixie Belle Stakes on Jan. 20 .
The filly ran 7 furlongs over a fast track in 1:21.84 in winning the Eight Belles by 1 ¾ lengths. She has 4-3-0 record from seven starts overall and earnings of $342,320.