Asmussen sends pair in bid to end 0-for-43 streak at Oaklawn

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. –Town Champ and American Mandate will attempt to help their Hall of Fame trainer, Steve Asmussen, break out of a rare local slump Thursday when they start as top contenders in the featured eighth race at Oaklawn Park.

Asmussen has been shut out at Oaklawn with his last 43 starters, which have come over the last six race dates. His most recent winner at the track came March 27, with Cherished. Since then, Asmussen has had nine seconds and four thirds at Oaklawn.

“Somebody get home,” Asmussen said.

The only other track at which Asmussen has started horses since March 28 is Will Rogers Downs, where he was 2 for 4 heading into Monday. The barn’s racing opportunities have become limited in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to the early closings of meets like Aqueduct, Fair Grounds, and Sam Houston and also the scrapping of the spring meet at Keeneland. Ricardo Santana, one of Asmussen’s regular riders, had been in an Oaklawn-directed quarantine after he traveled to New Orleans to ride the Louisiana Derby Day program March 21. His first day back in the saddle was Sunday.

:: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

“We’re stabled on multiple fronts, and with the canceling at multiple venues where we had horses in, it got us out of rhythm,” Asmussen said. “The two-week quarantine they gave Ricardo didn’t help us because of his familiarity with who we were running.”

Santana will be aboard Town Champ in the feature on Thursday, a six-furlong allowance for 3-year-olds and up that drew nine. Town Champ has gone 2 for 3 at Oaklawn and will be prominent from post 3.

“He’s run some good races,” Asmussen said. “He’s a very headstrong horse. We don’t have a lot of choices with him but to get along.”

American Mandate enters off a third-place finish in a first-level allowance on Feb. 22 at Oaklawn. He will break from post 5 under Joe Talamo.

“We had planned on putting him back on the grass at Keeneland, but obviously that plan got changed,” Asmussen said. “We rerouted him back to Oaklawn.

“I’d love to have plans. I love to know what I’m going to do next and next has been changed so many times over the last three weeks.”

Asmussen added the competition has been steeper, with horses shipping into Oaklawn from across the country due to limited racing opportunities right now.

“It’s a little deeper,” he said.

Through these quiet times, Asmussen has maintained his position as the leading trainer in wins and earnings in North America in 2020. He also is still sitting second in the Oaklawn standings in wins and continues to lead his local peers in stable earnings with $3.1 million.