Barn Notes 12/6/24
Compiled by Robert Yates
A year ago, Erik Asmussen said if he didn’t try to ride, he would “always wonder” what if.
A year later, that “what if”is clearly in the rearview mirror for Asmussen, 22, the son of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and younger brother of Keith Asmussen, Oaklawn’s second-leading jockey in 2023-2024.
Erik Asmussen enters the 2024-2025 Oaklawn meeting as one of the country’s most successful apprentice jockeys this year.
“I’m truly blessed,” Asmussen said.
After winning his first race Jan. 5 at Sam Houston, Asmussen grabbed his first career riding title last summer at Lone Star Park and was leading apprentice at the recently concluded Churchill Downs fall meet with 12 victories, including his biggest to date aboard the Steve Asmussen-trained Gulfport in the $300,000 Bet On Sunshine Stakes Nov. 2.
Strongly backed by Steve Asmussen, Oaklawn’s all-time leading trainer, Erik Asmussen had 123 victories overall this year through Thursday, with his mounts earning $4,762,804, according to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization.
Those strong numbers put Asmussen, despite launching his career later than most riders, in the conversation for an Eclipse Award as the country’s champion apprentice jockey.
“It was always a dream of mine (to ride),” Asmussen said. “If I didn’t try it, I’d always question myself. The same thing starting off. Give it a try. I’d always question myself if I could be good at it. So, to actually be successful, it’s truly a dream come true.”
Asmussen rode his first race Nov. 22, 2023, at Churchill Downs. He was based at Sam Houston last winter, but plans to ride regularly this season at Oaklawn. He’s trying to follow in the footsteps of his famous uncle, Cash Asmussen, who won an Eclipse Award in 1979 as the country’s champion apprentice jockey.
“That was 45 years ago,” Erik Asmussen said. “To make my family proud in doing that really kind of motivates me to keep trying to get better every day.”
Asmussen rode two winners last season at Oaklawn. Asmussen said he will lose his 5-pound apprentice weight allowance early next year.
Bells Will be Ringing
Oaklawn’s “Ring the Bell” program for Thoroughbred aftercare begins its fourth season Friday, opening day of its scheduled 65-day meeting.
Donations to the program at Oaklawn – a $100 minimum – are loudly signaled following a race by a member of the winning connections hand ringing a large copper-colored bell in the Larry Snyder Winner’s Circle.
The Ring the Bell program debuted at the 2021-2022 meeting, with $14,000 raised during the final six days of the season. It was officially launched with Oaklawn President Louis Cella and Bill Walmsley, a longtime Thoroughbred owner and president of the Arkansas division of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, each donating $5,000 on behalf of their respective groups. Cella is also a Thoroughbred owner.
The program raised $68,000 during the 2022-2023 meeting and $71,590 last season, according to Jeanette Milligan, executive director of the Arkansas HBPA.
Money raised is earmarked for the Arkansas Thoroughbred Retirement Program and Rehabilitation Foundation, a collaboration between the Arkansas HBPA and Oaklawn. The foundation was established as a safe path to a second career for Oaklawn-raced or trained horses upon retirement.
All money raised, Milligan said, goes toward the care of horses – feed, hay, farrier, veterinarian, supplies, etc. – awaiting adoption.
For more information on the Arkansas Thoroughbred Retirement Program and Rehabilitation Foundation, visit www.racehorseadoption.com.
Finish Lines
Kentucky Oaks candidate Quietside is training at Oaklawn following her runner-up finish in the $400,000 Golden Rod Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles Saturday at Churchill Downs. John Ortiz trains Quietside for her breeder, Arkansan John Ed Anthony, Oaklawn’s all-time leading owner. … Ortiz’s new Oaklawn stable pony is 2022 Arkansas Derby runner-up Barber Road, who was retired last April. … Magic Mover, an unraced Good Magic colt for trainer Brad Cox, is the 7-5 program favorite for Saturday’s eighth race at Oaklawn, a $75,000 maiden special weight sprint for 2-year-olds. The race is for horses that have sold for $75,000 or less or RNA’d (reserve not attained) for $75,000 or less in their last auction. It will be the 12th maiden-auction race in Oaklawn history. The first came in 2021. Sacred Wish became the first Oaklawn maiden-auction graduate to win a Grade 1 race in the $300,000 Matriarch Stakes for fillies and mares, 3 and up, at one mile on the turf last Sunday at Del Mar. … Entries will be accepted and post positions drawn Sunday for the $150,000 Mistletoe Stakes for fillies and mares, 3 and up, at one mile Dec. 14 at Oaklawn. The Mistletoe closed with 23 nominations. … After racing Friday and Saturday, Oaklawn will be dark Sunday. Oaklawn begins its normal Friday-Sunday racing schedule Dec. 13. … “Oaklawn Raceday,” featuring Justin Acri, David Longinotti, director of Oaklawn Anywhere, and Equibase representative Jeff Taylor, can be heard Saturdays, 11 a.m.-11:30 a.m. (Central), during the 2024-2025 meeting on Little Rock, Ark., radio station KABZ-FM 103.7 and www.1037thebuzz.com.
