2021 Eclipse Awards: Steve Asmussen

Steve Asmussen, a supreme horseman from a family of horse people, made no secret about it, didn’t try to play humble and cool about Dale Baird’s longstanding North American record of 9,445 training wins.

Asmussen for years had been closing on the number. Four times, Asmussen had trained a Horse of the Year, Curlin twice, once each with Rachel Alexandra and Gun Runner. Breeders’ Cup races, the Dubai World Cup, two Preaknesses, and a Belmont. A spot in racing’s Hall of Fame. But what always has set Asmussen apart from other trainers that hit the top of the sport has been his continuing participation in all levels the game has to offer. Asmussen might be in Saratoga winning a Woodward Stakes (he did it in 2021 with Max Player) while a low-level maiden claimer knocks out a victory in Texas. His operation runs successfully at varying levels, whirring along at multiple locations. It’s how his win total has gotten so massive, and when he passed Baird in August at Saratoga, with win No. 9.446, Steve Asmussen assumed the position he deserved, the winningest trainer in North American racing history.

That achievement behind him, Asmussen guided the petite filly Echo Zulu through a likely championship 2-year-old season, culminating with victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. He won 453 races during the year, his highest total since 2010, and his stable earnings topped $31 million, a career best for one of the world’s best trainers.

:: Full list of 2021 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories