Steve Asmussen breaks North American win record

Steve Asmussen, whose Hall of Fame career began 35 years ago with the ambition to be the best in Thoroughbred racing history, has become the winningest trainer the continent has ever produced.

Thanks to Stellar Tap’s first-place finish under Ricardo Santana Jr. as a 5-1 shot in a $100,000 maiden race on Saturday afternoon at Saratoga, Asmussen earned his 9,446th victory. That broke the North American record of 9,445 established by Dale Baird in a 57-year career that ended with his death in 2007, according to Equibase.

[Related: See how family contributed to Asmussen’s record]

“God is great,” said Asmussen, fighting back joyful tears on the “Saratoga Live” telecast right after the race. “I’ve just been unbelievably blessed. A 2-year-old that started at mom and dad’s (Texas) farm here today on Whitney day. I think everything that we’ve done is made possible by their support.”

Asmussen had tied the record less than a day earlier, when Rafael Bejarano rode 4-year-old colt Shanghai’s Dream to victory in a claiming race at Ellis Park in Kentucky.

With 14 of his horses entered in 13 races on four racetracks, it seemed almost certain Asmussen would break the tie with Baird on Saturday. Now it is a question of how high he will push his win total in the years and decades to come.

The new record holder is a 55-year-old native of Gettysburg, S.D., who grew up in Laredo, Texas. He was literally born into horsemanship as the son of two racing professionals, Keith and Marilyn. His older brother, Cash, was himself an accomplished jockey. The next generation of Asmussens also looks ready to carry on the family brand; son Keith, 22, is a stakes-winning jockey who attends the University of Texas.

Asmussen himself was a jockey who won 63 of 721 races in the ’80s before he grew too tall to compete. After he became a trainer on his own in 1986, success came gradually as would an improving grade of horses. He won two Eclipse Awards as the top trainer of 2008 and 2009 working with future Hall of Famers Curlin and Rachel Alexandra. His roster of champions also includes Kodiak Cowboy, My Miss Aurelia, Untapable, Mitole, Midnight Bisou and 2017 horse of the year Gun Runner.

Along the way, he set the record for most training wins in a calendar year with 555 in 2004. He broke it in 2008 with 621 and then again in 2009 with the current record of 650. All this led to his election in 2016 into the National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame.

Asmussen has also won seven times in the Breeders’ Cup, twice in the Preakness and once in the Belmont Stakes.

Although he has said his next goal is to win a Kentucky Derby, a race in which he is 0-for-23, Asmussen is keenly aware of another goal that is within reach. He is chasing the world record of 9,881 victories held by Juan Suárez Villarroel, an active trainer based in Peru. Suárez Villarroel is winning at about half the rate Asmussen has been in recent years, so that record could fall by early 2023.

That chase could coincide with Asmussen’s possibly being the first trainer in the world to reach 10,000 wins. At the rate he is going, it seems there is no stopping him.