Remington Park article
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – November 5, 2026 — For the second consecutive week, Steve Asmussen has been honored as the Lip Chip Trainer of the Week, this time based on the record-breaking night he had, winning six-of-nine races to set a new milestone. Jose Alvarez was the Jockey of the Week.
Horse racing’s all-time winningest trainer in North America, Asmussen, grabbed victories this week like a kid taking candy from an unattended bowl on Halloween. Following Halloween night, Asmussen led the trainers’ standings by 50 wins, his unprecedented margin over second-place trainer Scott Young. The actual tally is 66-16. It’s virtually unfathomable what Asmussen is doing this meet.
The 20-time training title holder at this Oklahoma City track scored a record six wins in one night on Friday, Oct. 30, including the featured allowance with Irresistible. That number of trips to the winner’s circle in one night is the most ever by a thoroughbred trainer. Trainer Wade White set the original 5-win record on one Remington Park racing program on Nov. 17, 1993. Asmussen managed five wins on one card just over a year ago on Oct. 16, 2025.
Asmussen also leads the way by a wide margin in the owners’ race with a 25-10 lead over last year’s top owner Bryan Hawk. The top owner/trainer’s eight wins this week were with Irresistible, Promptly, Fire in My Sul, Potentiator, Gun Party and Hand it Over on the record-breaking night. He then added two more victories with Personality Plus on Wednesday and Miss Arlington on Saturday. For the week, Asmussen had 15 horses of 35 starters that either won or ran second. Coming in a strong second behind Asmussen for the week was trainer Austin Gustafson. He had six-of-nine starters win or finish second and had a 78 percent in-the-money mark for the week.
Alvarez won or ran second with 9-of-18 starters to give him the edge in the jockeys’ Lip Chip race. His four winners for the week were Fine Finish in allowance company and Freebie West against maidens on Wednesday, and two more on Thursday with Shai A with allowance horses and Shotgun Sally against maidens. Those two double-baggers came for trainers Bret Calhoun, Joe Offolter (a pair) and Mark Buehrer.
Alvarez is a solid fifth in the Remington Park jockeys’ standings with 22 wins this meet, putting him five ahead of Stewart Elliott in sixth with 17. The top four riders are Erik Asmussen at 59 wins, followed by David Cabrera (43), Ramon Vazquez (32) and Floyd Wethey, Jr. (25).
The top jock of the week is a multiple graded stakes winner in his career that has seen him pile up a record of 6,878 mounts, 931 wins, 976 seconds and 903 thirds for horses’ earnings of $24,517,590. Alvarez has been riding officially in North America since 2010, according to Equibase. His most recent graded stakes winner was Hits Pricey Legacy, who won the Grade 3 $200,000 Remington Park Oaks on Sept. 25, 2022 when that C.R. Trout owned-trained-and-bred 3-year-old Oklahoma-bred filly surprised open-company shippers to win by two lengths at 11-1 odds.
Asmussen, at 60 years old, is the all-time winningest trainer in the history of North American thoroughbred racing with 11,406 winners, well ahead of all other conditioners. Dale Baird is in second with 9,445, according to Equibase. Among Steve’s other accolades are awards as two-time Eclipse winner for top trainer in the country, a member of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 2016) and stakes winners in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Preakness, Belmont, Travers, Breeders’ Cup Distaff, Kentucky Oaks and Dubai World Cup.
Asmussen also is the 13-time top trainer in the country by wins in the United States and has been the champion trainer by earnings three times. Among Asmussen’s top horses he trained were two-time Champion Horse of the Year, Curlin (2007-08), Rachel Alexandra, Gun Runner, Midnight Bisou, Mitole, Epicenter, Jackie’s Warrior, Cogburn and Echo Zulu.
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Remington Park has provided more than $429 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District. Remington Park’s marquee event for 2-year-old Thoroughbreds is the Springboard Mile. A qualifying points race for the 2027 Kentucky Derby, the Springboard will be contested on Saturday, Dec. 19. Remington Park presents year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. Guests must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or to enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.
