Asmussen, Catalano tie for Churchill training title

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The September meet at Churchill Downs ended with ties for leading trainer and jockey. Steve Asmussen and Wayne Catalano tied for top trainer with seven wins apiece, while Corey Lanerie and Ricardo Santana Jr. deadlocked for top jockey with 13 wins each.

For Asmussen, it was the 15th time he has won or tied for that honor, extending his own record at Churchill, while it was the first time for Catalano, a perennial leading trainer on the Chicago circuit.

Lanerie now has won or tied for top rider at six of the last seven Churchill meets. It was the first Churchill meet title for Santana.

Ken and Sarah Ramsey, with seven wins, were the leading owners for the 22nd time, extending their own mark.

Churchill reported gross purse payouts of $3,864,487, for a per-card average of $322,041. Field size averaged 8.1 horses per race.

Churchill, by long-standing company policy, does not release attendance and handle figures except on major race dates. An open-records request has been submitted to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for those numbers.

This was the second straight year that Churchill held a September meet after taking over the traditional dates from Turfway Park.