Horse racing is a tough sport that requires talent, skills, and luck in order to succeed. With that said, some people managed to sneak through all the obstacles and make an incredible horse racing career that will put their name in the horse racing books forever.
Such name is Steven Mark Asmussen. He is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer born on November 18, 1965, and he is currently the leading trainer in North America by wins.
Obviously, Asmussen had a big impact on the horse racing industry throughout his career. But before we can jump to his success and achievements, it is time to learn more about his history and how he became one of the world’s most successful racehorse trainers.
Beginning Days
Steve Asmussen is born in Gettysburg, South Dakota and his passion for horse racing comes from his family. His Parents Marilyn and Keith Asmussen were both horse trainers and worked at El Primero Training Center in Laredo, Texas.
His brother was also involved with horse racing and claimed the Eclipse Award for the best jockey after he retired to become a trainer. But before Steve Asmussen became the greatest racehorse trainer in the United States, he started out riding horses, similar to his brother Cash.
However, his career as a jockey was short-lived. He only managed to race as a jockey for three years, after being forced to become a trainer. His training career started at only 21 years old, which at that time was considered a young age for a trainer.
In his first year as a trainer, he participated in 15 races and managed to win only one race. But despite his shaky start as a trainer, a few years down the line he went to train some of the top horses and win some of the biggest races in the world.
Wins and Achievements
When his career as a trainer started to get some traction, he found great success in horse racing winning some of the most prestigious races in the world. He managed to win two Kentucky Oaks (2005 and 2014) three Arkansas Derby wins, a Breeders’ Cup Win in 2007, and three Triple Crown leg victories winning the Preakness Stakes two times and the Belmont Stakes once. You can check his past results in the Preakness here: https://www.twinspires.com/preakness-stakes/results
Even though he has all the trophies that he can imagine, he is still missing a rather important one. He is the most successful racehorse trainer in the United States that has never won the Kentucky Derby. The ironic part is that he has more wins than any trainer at Churchill Downs, his home track in Louisville, but never won the Kentucky Derby.
This year his horse Epicenter came really close to achieving his life goal but managed to finish second in the Run for the Roses. The race was won by Rich Strike – an 81-1 shot who got into the field because of a last-minute scratch. This proves the fact that horse racing is a sport where anything is possible.
Steve Asmussen is approaching nearly 10,000 wins throughout his career and managed to accumulate more than $386 million in race earnings. Some of the most successful horses that Asmussen has trained over the years include, Curlin, Gun Runner, Creator, Rachel Alexandra, Curlin, Rachel Alexandra, and many more.
The most disappointing part of his career is when he was removed from the agenda from the American thoroughbred racing’s Hall of Fame in 2014 due to allegations by PETA that he had committed cruelty to animals by using an illegal medication or rule violation.
So, this shouldn’t be a dark spot in his career as he denied all the allegations and decided to press charges against PETA.
Net Worth
Steve Asmussen’s Net Worth has been growing substantially over the last couple of years. Since there isn’t an exact source of how much money has Steve earned over the years, we can only base our info on assumption.
Based on these sources, Steve Asmussen’s net worth is around $1.5 million
Wife
Steve Asmussen’s private life is also interesting as his professional career. When it comes to its better half, Steve Asmussen has been with Julie Marie Asmussen for several decades now.
Even though Julie Marie Asmussen is the wife of one of the most popular person in the horse racing industry, somehow she managed to stay out of the media attention. That’s why there isn’t much about her personal data from relevant sources on the internet.
Steve Asmussen is a horse racing legend that is still heavily involved with the sport. At 56 years old he is still training horses and participating in big horse racing events. He comes from a family that is heavily involved in horse racing, but it seems like he took a step forward and claimed the most success.