Hall of Fame Conditioner is the Only Trainer to Win 1,000 Races Here Since its Opening in 1994
From Press Release
(Houston, TX) –Sam Houston Race Park kicked off its 31st Thoroughbred season on January 3 and just two weeks into the meet, is proud to recognize an accomplishment by trainer Steve Asmussen, the track’s all-time leading trainer, who won his 1,000thSam Houston Race Park race with Lookatchu in the second race on the Saturday, January 18th program. Alfredo Triana, Jr. had the call aboard the 3-year-old Tapiture filly, bred and owned by Clark O. Brewster.
“Clark is a great friend and I am happy to win another significant milestone with him,” said Asmussen, who was reached by phone at Fair Grounds following the race. “I believe he owned my 8,000th winner; I am proud of our long term association.”
The 59-year-old conditioner won his 16th training title last April at the northwest Houston racetrack, furthering his respected legacy in Houston. He was honored as top trainer here in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005; 2014 -2024. Already in the lead in the 2025 live racing season here, Asmussen trainee Ring Seeker won the $75,000 My Dandy Division of the Clarence Scharbauer, Jr. Texas Stallion Stakes on January 3.
Asmussen holds the record for victories in the most prestigious Thoroughbred championship at Sam Houston Race Park, the Grade 3, $300, Houston Ladies Classic with five titles. He saddled last year’s winner Kaleem Shah Inc.’s Bellamore, who joined Midnight Bisou, Lady Apple and back-to-backvictories by Pauline’s Pearl.
His highly acclaimed accomplishments and Grade 1 victories include eight Breeders’ Cup Stakes, two Preakness victories and one Belmont Stakes win. On August 7, 2021 Asmussen broke the North American record for wins by a trainer, passing Dale Baird’s record of 9,445 when Stellar Tap won at Saratoga Race Course. Never one to sit on his laurels, the wins keep coming and as of January 18, Asmussen’s current stats stand at 53,431 starts, 10,767 wins and $461,189,567 in earnings.
He was inducted into the National Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Texas Racing Hall of Fame the following year. So perhaps, his 1,000th Sam Houston Race Park win may not resonate as a premier highlight, but it means a great deal to Asmussen, who resides in Arlington, Texas with his wife, Julie.
“My career would never have reached this level without the longtime support of so many Texas owners,” he stated. “Many were with me when I started and still send me quality horses.”
The Texans who have trusted their horses to Asmussen include Lee and Bob Ackerly, Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt, Ro Parra, James Cassels, Bob Zollars, as well as Erv Woolsey and Keith Asmussen, the patriarch of the family, who owns and operates Asmussen Horse Center in Laredo, Texas. Texas Champions Day stakes winners trained by Asmussen include Sly Kona, Louetta, Confiding Winner, Western Quality, Hannah’s Royalrock Slick Kitty, and of course, William S. Farish’s homebred Direct Dial, named 2018 Texas Horse of the Year, by the Texas Thoroughbred Association.
A son of leading Texas sire Too Much Bling, Direct Dial won divisions of the Clarence Scharbauer Jr. Texas Stallion Stakes Series at Sam Houston Race Park and Lone Star Park. He captured eight stakes and banked $546,931 in 35 starts.
The Sam Houston Race Park titles keep coming for Asmussen, who credits his longtime assistant, Pablo Ocampo, for overseeing the day-to-day operation at both Sam Houston and Lone Star Park.
“Pablo is the longest continuous employee for me and continues to do a wonderful job,” said Asmussen of Ocampo.
Bryan Pettigrew, Sam Houston Race Park’s Vice President and General Manager, acknowledges the excellence of Asmussen and his contribution in Sam Houston Race Park’s history since it opened in 1994.
“There is no question that Steve is one of the most respected and successful Thoroughbred trainers in North America,” said Pettigrew. “We are deeply appreciative of his allegiance to Texas racing and Sam Houston Race Park and congratulate him on this milestone.”