Asmussen leads meet

Steve Asmussen, the nation's leading trainer in wins and earnings, was the leading trainer at the Fair Grounds meet this year, finishing with 86 wins for the 81-day meet that ended Sunday.

Asmussen has been the leading trainer at Fair Grounds for seven of the past eight meets. Asmussen is also the trainer of Pyro, who won the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds this year and is a leading candidate for the Kentucky Derby.

James Theriot won the riding title with 94 wins, 13 more than Shaun Bridgmohan. It was Theriot's first riding title at the track.

Handle and attendance figures were not immediately available. The owner of Fair Grounds, Churchill Downs Inc., does not release handle and attendance figures for its tracks, and Sidney Schmitt, the chief auditor of the Louisiana Racing Commission, said Wednesday that the track has not yet submitted its wagering figures to the commission.

The meet, which ran from Nov. 22 until March 23, was the first during which the track ran a slot-machine casino. The slot machines were located in a temporary facility as Churchill Downs Inc. builds a permanent casino next to the track.