He shouldn’t have been a trainer. Not at first, anyway. Steve Asmussen wanted to be a jockey, following the path of his brother Cash and his father Keith. But biology had other plans. He kept growing until he hit six feet tall, which in the world of horse racing is basically like being a seven-foot-tall gymnast. He outgrew the saddle by the time he was 20, but he didn't leave the backside. Instead, he just took over the family business from a different angle.
Honestly, the numbers are kind of stupid when you look at them. As of early 2026, Steve Asmussen has saddled over 11,000 winners. That isn't just a record; it’s a mountain. He passed Dale Baird’s long-standing mark in 2021 and hasn't looked back since. You’ve probably seen his name at the top of the standings at Oaklawn, Remington, or Churchill Downs. It's almost a guarantee. If there is a race running in the Midwest or the South, Asmussen likely has the favorite, or at least a horse that’s going to make life difficult for everyone else.
But being the winningest trainer in North American history doesn't mean everyone loves you. Far from it. Asmussen is one of the most polarizing figures in the sport. He’s been the king of the "super stable," a business model that some purists think is killing the game, even while they acknowledge he's basically a genius at it.
The Stonestreet Years and the Hall of Fame
Most people remember the 2007-2009 run. It was a freakish stretch of dominance. You had Curlin, who won Horse of the Year twice. Then came Rachel Alexandra, the filly who basically broke the sport for a year, beating the boys in the Preakness and winning the Woodward. Asmussen was the guy pulling the strings for Stonestreet Stables during that era. It looked easy. It wasn't.
Managing a horse like Rachel Alexandra requires a weird mix of aggression and restraint. Everyone wanted her to run every week. Asmussen had to keep her sound while navigating a schedule that was basically a gauntlet. He won back-to-back Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Trainer in 2008 and 2009. He was the golden boy.
Then things got messy.
In 2014, PETA released a video. They had an undercover operative working in his barn for months. It featured his longtime assistant, Scott Blasi, using some pretty colorful language and discussed the use of various medications. The Hall of Fame actually pulled Asmussen’s name off the ballot that year. It was a massive scandal. Investigators eventually cleared him of the most serious allegations—like animal cruelty—but the "bad boy" image stuck. He finally got into the Hall of Fame in 2016, the same year he won the Belmont Stakes with Creator. It felt like a redemption arc, but for a lot of fans, the jury is still out.
The Business of the Super Stable
How do you win 11,000 races? You run a lot of horses.
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Asmussen isn't just a trainer; he’s a CEO. He runs multiple divisions across the country simultaneously. He has assistants in New York, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Basically, the guy is everywhere at once.
- The Pipeline: His parents, Keith and Marilyn, run El Primero Training Center in Laredo, Texas. Most of his young horses start there. It’s a literal family assembly line.
- The Volume: In a typical year, he’ll have over 2,000 starts. To put that in perspective, many very successful trainers might have 200 or 300.
- The Efficiency: He wins at about an 18% to 20% clip. Doing that with that much volume is statistically improbable, but he’s been doing it for decades.
What Most People Get Wrong About His Method
There’s a common misconception that Asmussen just "buys the wins" because he has big clients like Winchell Thoroughbreds. That’s a bit of a lazy take. Look at a horse like Gun Runner. He wasn't some unbeatable monster as a three-year-old. He was good, but he wasn't the horse.
Asmussen and his team developed him. They waited. They let him grow into his frame. By the time Gun Runner was four, he was arguably the best horse in the world, capping it off with a Breeders’ Cup Classic win. That’s horsemanship, not just a big checkbook.
Recent Legal Headaches
If you follow the news, you know it hasn't all been winner's circle photos lately. Asmussen has spent a good chunk of the last few years in court over labor issues. In June 2025, he settled a long-running case with the U.S. Department of Labor for about $350,000 regarding payroll practices in Kentucky. It wasn't the first time, either. He’s had similar settlements in New York.
The New York State Gaming Commission even put him on a monitoring agreement through the end of 2026. He has to pay for an independent monitor to watch over his operations. It's the price of doing business when you're that big and the regulators are breathing down your neck. He hasn't been found "willful" in most of these wage cases, but the pattern of "clerical errors" is something his critics point to constantly.
Why He Still Matters in 2026
Despite the fines and the PETA videos and the grumbling from smaller barns, horse racing still runs through Steve Asmussen. He hit 11,000 wins in late 2025. In January 2026, he hit his 1,000th career win at Oaklawn Park alone, with his son Erik in the irons. That’s a cool story, honestly. Having your kid ride your milestone winner at the track where you've won 14 training titles? You can't write that stuff.
He’s also been vocal about the "herd mentality" in modern racing. He hates mandatory "dark days" (days when the track is closed for training). He argues that horses are individuals and need to move according to their own bodies, not some office worker's schedule. He’s a "boots on the ground" guy who is at the track at 4:00 AM every single day. Love him or hate him, you can't say he doesn't work.
What to Watch For Next
If you're betting or just following the sport, here is the reality of the Asmussen stable today:
- The Texas Connection: If a horse comes out of Laredo and shows up in a maiden race at Sam Houston or Lone Star, pay attention. The family knows which ones are "real."
- The Saratoga Push: He still puts a massive emphasis on the Saratoga meet. He broke the all-time win record there with Stellar Tap in 2021 for a reason.
- The Sons: Keith J. and Erik are both deeply involved in the game now. We are seeing the third generation of the Asmussen dynasty taking over.
The sport is changing. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) is tightening the screws on everyone. Asmussen has had to adapt his "old school" high-volume approach to a new-school regulatory environment. So far, he's still standing. He’s still winning. And he’s probably already at the barn while you're reading this.
To truly understand his impact, you have to look past the win totals. You have to look at the longevity. Most trainers have a "hot" five years and then fade away. Asmussen has been at the top of the food chain since the mid-90s. That doesn't happen by accident. It happens through a level of obsession that most people would find exhausting.
If you're looking to track his progress this season, keep a close eye on the Churchill Downs spring meet. He's closing in on even more local records there, and he usually brings his "A" string for the Kentucky Derby undercard. Whether he ever wins that elusive Derby trophy remains the only real question left in his career. He’s 0-for-25 or something close to it, which is the ultimate irony for a guy who has won everything else.
Keep an eye on the Equibase stats for 2026. He's already off to a flying start, and with the "Asmussen Army" spread across four states, the 12,000-win mark might be closer than people think.