Keith Asmussen

Jockey Keith Asmussen joins the TDN Writers' Room to discuss his family's illustrious history in the sport and his first-ever mount in the GI Kentucky Derby.

Few jockeys have ever come so far so fast. Keith Asmussen, the son of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, has been riding full time for less than two years, but has already snagged mounts in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks and sits in second-place in the jockey standings at Oaklawn Park. Asmussen, who will ride Just Steel (Justify) in the Derby and Lemon Muffin (Collected) in the Oaks for trainer Wayne Lukas, joined the TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland this week to discuss his...

Selected from a pool of almost 200 applicants, the Next Generation Advisory Group will consist of 16 new members who represent a broad range of views and experiences across the American horse racing community, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) announced Monday. The group will start in April and will convene monthly to provide feedback on the implementation and evolution of HISA's various regulations, including racetrack safety and anti-doping and medication regulations. Among this group of 16 are horsemen, veterinarians, jockeys, horseplayers, representatives from horsemen's groups, racing offices and...

For a time, Wayne Lukas was as much a part of the GI Kentucky Derby as mint juleps and roses. From 1981, when he sent out his first Derby starter in Partez, to 2000, he had at least one starter in the race every year while running a total of 38 horses. Four of them--Winning Colors, Thunder Gulch, Grindstone and Charismatic--won. But he hasn't had a starter since Bravazo (Awesome Again) in 2018 and hasn't had a winner since Charismatic in 1999. But the drought is over as the 88-year-old...

Steve Asmussen has indicated an interest in saddling a starter at the 2024 Sandy Ride at Red Mile Quarter Horse meet, according to stallionesearch.com. The Hall of Famer did not have a set number of confirmed runners, stall applications were due Thursday, Feb. 29, but Sandy Ridge racing manager Terry Oliver was reportedly instrumental in getting Asmussen back to his roots in Quarter Horse racing. His family had been involved in the industry in the early 1970s, originating with parents Marilyn and Keith Asmussen. It would be his first such...

The coach strikes again. Before seeing any past performances, if one was asked to guess Saturday morning before the day's races which trainer might break a maiden in a graded Kentucky Oaks points race while at the same time helping a young jockey get his first career graded score, odds are the first name off of most everyone's lips would be D. Wayne Lukas. The Hall of Famer, with his usual flair for the unconventional, sent out 28-1 Lemon Muffin (f, 3, Collected--Pelt, by Canadian Frontier) under Keith Asmussen to...

3rd-Oaklawn, $140,000, Alw (NW1$X), Opt. Clm ($100,000), 2-11, 3yo, 6f, 1:10.81, sy, 4 1/4 lengths. BOOTH (c, 3, Mitole--Sophia's Song {SW & GSP, $155,892}, by Bellamy Road) earned the 'TDN Rising Star' badge with a towering 5 1/4-length debut success at Keeneland Oct. 7, good for a 96 Beyer that was a few points faster than the one posted by Locked (Gun Runner) in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity two races earlier, the different distances notwithstanding. The chestnut was accordingly sent off at 62 cents on the dollar to take...

Jockey Keith Asmussen recorded his 64th career victory in Saturday's opener at Oaklawn, eclipsing the total of his father, Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, during his riding career. Keith Asmussen, fittingly, reached the milestone on a horse trained by his father, Hern, who won the 1 1/16-mile claiming race. "Couldn't be more excited for today and the rest of the meet," Keith Asmussen said. Steve Asmussen rode 63 winners in 1982-1984, according to Equibase. Asmussen turned to training after he became too heavy to ride. Keith Asmussen, 25, launched...

4th-OP, $115k, Msw, 2yo, 1m, 2:54p.m. ET A $350,000 FTSAUG purchase for HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud, RIDE FOR SUL (Candy Ride {Arg}) looks to open his tab as 2023 winds down to a close. Out of Southern Honey (Colonel John), winner of the GIII Winning Colors S. and graded-placed on two other occasions, the colt hails from the same female family which yielded MGSW & MGISP Runway Model and her son MGISW McKinzie (Street Sense). Trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Keith Asmussen, the morning line...

A Sunday afternoon in August, back in the 1970s, and a student at U.C. Davis is trying to catch up on his history notes ahead of his final semester. There's a knock at the door. Two girls. "They wanted to know if my roommate Morgan was home," remembers David Fiske. "He was not. Asked if my roommate Jeff was home. He was not. Asked if my roommate Pat was home. He was not." Nothing else for it, so they wondered if Fiske would like to come along to a party....

It was back in the late seventies and early eighties, well before Steve Asmussen had his trainer's license, that the foundation was being set for what was to become a historic career. He was studying under his parents, Keith and Marilyn Asmussen, the multi-talented Texas-based team that did a little bit of everything, including breaking dozens of babies that would go on to stardom on the racetrack. Their youngest son, just a teenager then, saw what it took to be successful, the can't-miss combination of hard work, skill, devotion to...

Super Stock (Dialed In) emerged in "fantastic" shape from his victory in Saturday's GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn, Steve Asmussen, the colt's Hall of Fame trainer, said Sunday morning. The bay is scheduled to be flown early this week to Kentucky, Asmussen said, where the colt will join the trainer's string at Churchill Downs to begin preparing for the GI Kentucky Derby May 1. Bought for $70,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, Super Stock gave Asmussen his fifth Arkansas Derby victory and is co-owned by Asmussen's 79-year-old father Keith. The...