2025.10.09 Oaklawn Racing Upates

Racing Updates
Compiled by Robert Yates

Thursday, Oct. a9, 2025

All-time Oaklawn leading trainer Steve Asmussen is approaching yet another career milestone.

Asmussen enters Thursday with a North American-record 10,995 career victories, according to Equibase, racing’s official data gathering organization. Through entries for Sunday, Asmussen has 30 horses entered at tracks across the country.

Asmussen saddled his first horse in 1986 and became the first trainer to reach 10,000 career North American victories when Bet He’s Ready won the fifth race Feb. 20, 2023, at Oaklawn. Asmussen surpassed the late Dale Baird (9,445) as North America’s winningest trainer in 2021. Baird still ranks second.

Asmussen has collected a record 14 Oaklawn training titles – 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2021-2022, 2023-2024 and 2024-2025.

A 2016 inductee into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Asmussen owns every major Oaklawn career record for trainers, including victories (993), stakes victories (123) and purse earnings ($63.9 million). He set a single-season Oaklawn record for stakes victories (11) in 2023-2024. Asmussen, in 2023-2024, also set a single-season Oaklawn record for purse earnings ($6,685,459) and equaled the late Cole Norman’s single-season record for victories (71).

Asmussen is a two-time Eclipse Award winner as the country’s outstanding trainer (2008 and 2009).

Three other Oaklawn training champions are among the 10 winningest trainers in North American history, according to Equibase. The late Jack Van Berg (6,523) is fourth, Bill Mott (5,555 through Wednesday) is eighth and the late D. Wayne Lukas (4,953) is ninth.

Van Berg was Oaklawn’s leading trainer in 1983 and 1984. Mott topped the Oaklawn standings in 1986. Lukas was Oaklawn’s leading trainer in 1987 and 2011.

Van Berg, Mott and Lukas are also Hall of Fame members.

Finish Lines

Oaklawn’s stable area opens Oct. 23, with the track opening for training Oct. 28 in advance of its 2025-2026 meeting. The 64-day split season is scheduled to run Dec. 12-May 2. … Oaklawn-raced Lady Crush and Won Happy Mama are entered in the $400,000 G2-Franklin Stakes for fillies and mares at 5 ½ furlongs on the turf Sunday at Keeneland. … Oaklawn allowance winner Free Like a Girl is the 9-5 program favorite for the $100,000 Magnolia Stakes for accredited Louisiana-bred fillies and mares Saturday at Delta Downs.