Steve Asmussen became the second thoroughbred trainer to reach 7,000 victories when he swept the early daily double Wednesday at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs with first-time starter Our Adieu in the first and Drama Coach in the second.
Dale Baird, who died in 2007, is North American's all-time leading trainer in victories with 9,445.
Asmussen, 49, has won six training titles at Oaklawn and is in the running for a seventh title, although he trails Chris Hartman 27-21 with seven days remaining.
Asmussen saddled his first winner in July 1986 and ranks fifth all-time among North American trainers in career earnings with $226,714,081.
Asmussen's far-flung stable includes strings of horses at nearly every major racing venue, and he relies heavily on assistants to execute day-to-day tasks.
"I'm extremely proud for the whole barn," Asmussen said. "Everybody's stuck together. It's an extremely significant milestone that we're extremely proud of and, hopefully, we can continue."
Asmussen's success hasn't come without controversy.
The trainer was hit with an avalanche of negative publicity last spring after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals released a video that cast a cloud over the Asmussen stable and led to the firing of Scott Blasi, who has since been rehired.
PETA formally lodged charges against Asmussen in New York and Kentucky. Both regulatory agencies investigated, but Asmussen has not been charged with wrongdoing by either organization.
Asmussen moved within a victory of his milestone victory in the first race when Our Adieu, a horse he co-owns with Keith Asmussen, won the maiden claiming race by 4 1/2 lengths. Clark Brewster's Drama Coach won the second race, a six-furlong claiming race, by 4 1/4 lengths to give the trainer North American win 7,000. Ricardo Santana Jr. guided home both winners.
Asmussen has had 33,373 starters in North America, according to Equibase, thoroughbred racing's statistical keeper. More than 10 percent (794) of Asmussen's victories have come in stakes races, with 177 of those victories in graded races.
Curlin's victories in the 2008 Dubai World Cup and its prep are not included in Asmussen's statistics.
Among Asmussen's most notable accomplishments was training the Horse of the Year for three consecutive years between 2007 and 2009 with Curlin, twice, and Rachel Alexandra.
Curlin won the Rebel Stakes and the Arkansas Derby in 2007.
Rachel Alexandra raced at Oaklawn as a 3-year-old before Asmussen took over the training duties from Hal Wiggins after Rachel Alexandra's victory in the Kentucky Oaks.
Asmussen trained Curlin to victory in the 2007 Preakness Stakes and Rachel Alexandra to victory in the 2009 Preakness.
Information for this articile contributed by the Oaklawn Park media department, Daily Racing Form, Equibase, the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Sports on 04/02/2015