Business as usual for Asmussen after 8,000th win

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Steve Asmussen already is well into his ninth set of 1,000 victories while still savoring hitting the 8,000-win milestone on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs. The Hall of Fame trainer was thrilled that his parents and two of his sons were here to celebrate the monumental feat with him.

“I was happy beyond words,” Asmussen, 52, said one morning this week while astride his pony on the Churchill backside.

If Asmussen keeps winning the way he usually does, it won’t be that much longer until he hits the 9,000 mark – and then takes aim on the all-time North American record of 9,445 held by the late Dale Baird.

Over the last seven years, Asmussen has averaged 311 wins per season – which doesn’t even count the three-year period of 2008-10, when he averaged a surreal 592 wins per year. If he remains on pace, it should be about three more years (in 2021) when he hits 9,000 and less than five years (in 2023) when he passes Baird. Into Friday, Asmussen’s win total stood at 8,007.

In the meantime, his hectic schedule continues. Among the plans he was formulating this week was getting 10 horses to Pimlico for the big May 18-19 weekend, including Tenfold for the Preakness.

“They’ll all van up there,” he said. “The Friday horses go Monday and the Saturday horses go Tuesday.”

Asmussen also has the following in mind for some of his other stakes horses:

◗ Mia Mischief, winner of the Eight Belles, could run next in the June 10 Jersey Girl or wait for the July 8 Victory Ride, both at Belmont Park.

◗ Lookin At Lee, the 2017 Derby runner-up who gave him his 8,000th win, goes next in the June 16 Stephen Foster at Churchill. “Obviously he likes this track,” he said.

◗ Midnight Bisou, recently turned over to him after finishing third as the favorite in the Kentucky Oaks, could run next in the June 9 Acorn or wait for the June 30 Mother Goose.

◗ Combatant, 18th in the Derby, “came out of it fine,” he said, adding that options for him include the June 16 Matt Winn at Churchill.

◗ New York Central, runner-up at 31-1 in the Pat Day Mile, has been turned out to WinStar Farm for a brief freshening.