COMBO OF ERIK, STEVE ASMUSSEN DOMINATE AGAIN, WINNING FEATURED ALLOWANCE RACE WITH RISK IT, DUO WINS FOUR ON NIGHT

Team Asmussen dominated again Thursday night at Remington Park, including a win in the featured allowance race with Risk It.

Jockey Erik and trainer Steve, his father and all-time winningest conditioner in North American racing, made so many trips to the winner’s circle – four – that they could have staked a claim with Oklahoma County on the land there.

Erik was aboard Risk It at 3-5 odds and lived up to the public’s backing, drawing away to a 1-1/4 length victory. It was the first Remington Park attempt for Risk It after shipping in from Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. The four wins catapulted Erik out of a tie for third in the jockeys’ standings with Stewart Elliott into a tie for second with David Cabrera at 45 wins. No one is catching leader Ramon Vazquez at 73 wins on the season.

The amazing thing about Erik’s run for second place is that he spotted this jockey colony almost two months of racing before he arrived at Remington Park the weekend of the Oklahoma Derby which was run Sept. 28.

The Asmussens got their night off to a fast start, winning the second race with Gloryibee, who broke her maiden in her sixth try at her fourth different track. She had tried to get that first win at Fair Grounds in New Orleans last year and then Oaklawn in January and April before moving on to the Horseshoe Indianapolis and then Remington Park.

The Asmussen combo then won the fourth race on the night with Stormforged, who broke his maiden in his third start after trying at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky. and then at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky. After Risk It’s win in seventh race, the Asmussens did it again in the nightcap, taking the ninth race with 1-2 favorite Vestes.

It was Risk It, however, that was the ultimate win on the night for Erik and Steve. It was Steve’s 66th trip to the winner’s circle as he will be crowned next week for the 20th time as Remington Park’s top trainer. Vestes moved that needle to 67 in the finale. No one is even near Steve this meet as Robertino Diodoro and Joe Offolter fight it out for second with 28 wins apiece.

A 4-year-old Kentucky-bred colt by Gun Runner, out of the Broken Vow mare Wedding Jitters, Risk It beat runner-up Chivalrous (3-1) by open daylight and the second-place finisher was another length ahead of the third horse, Storm On the Beach (11-1).

Risk It has been a bit of a hard-luck runner for Asmussen as he was only 1-for-21 lifetime before winning Thursday night. Despite that single win, Risk It had earned $309,650, coming in with six places and a pair of thirds. Now, owned by Steve after he claimed the colt Sept. 18 at Churchill Downs for $60,000, Risk It earned $23,268 from the $39,000 allowance purse on Thursday and improved his total bankroll of $332,918. Risk It was bred by Gun Runner Syndicate, De Sousa Stables & Cranford Bloodstock, LTD.

The colt covered the six furlongs, for 3-year-olds-and-up who had not won two races in their lifetime, in a time of 1:11.63 over the fast track. He battled for the lead with Gypsy Mischief (6-1) for half the race before the latter faded to fifth and Risk It kept moving like he had not been in a speed duel at all. The interior fractions of the race were :22.06 for the first quarter-mile, :45.11 for the half-mile and :58.16 for five-eighths of a mile.

Risk It paid $3.20 to win, $2.10 to place and $2.10 to show.

Remington Park racing continues Friday and Saturday, Dec. 12 & 13 with the first race nightly at 6pm-Central.

Remington Park has provided more than $402 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 presents year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. The 2025 Springboard Mile, a 2026 Kentucky Derby qualifying points race, takes place Saturday, Dec. 20, the final night of the Thoroughbred Season. Guests must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or to enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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