Steve Asmussen: 2025 Kentucky Derby Trainer Profile

Hall of Fame horse trainer Steve Asmussen has had some of the greatest horses of recent decades, including Curlin, Rachel Alexandra, and Gun Runner. He has won the Eclipse Award for leading trainer twice, and has won some of the most storied events in horse racing. Asmussen has won the Kentucky Oaks twice and the Breeders’ Cup Classic twice. He has won the Preakness twice, and the Belmont once. However, Steve Asmussen is still chasing the highest-profile prize in his sport: he has never won the Kentucky Derby.

It isn’t for lack of trying. Though he started on more modest circuits—his first stakes win came with Scout Command in 1987 at Birmingham Race Course—Asmussen has been training at every level of the game, including the top, for decades now. He has been a fixture in the Kentucky Derby since 2001 and has hit the board on several occasions. He just still seeks that first winner on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs.

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Steve Asmussen in the Kentucky Derby

Dating back to his first runner there in 2001, Steve Asmussen has had 26 starters in the Kentucky Derby. That includes at least one runner who has come to Louisville every year since 2016.

Asmussen has only ever had the Kentucky Derby favorite once: in 2022, with Epicenter. Epicenter came close, but had to settle for second when long shot Rich Strike came over the top late to win. He was Asmussen’s Kentucky Derby runner-up: Nehro finished second behind Animal Kingdom in 2011, and Lookin At Lee completed the exacta behind Always Dreaming in 2017.

Two other runners from Asmussen’s barn have hit the board in the Kentucky Derby—and both of those have been all-time greats. Curlin, making only the fourth start of his career, finished third in the 2007 Kentucky Derby. Though Gun Runner became a superstar as an older horse, he was very good early in his career as well, and he finished third behind Nyquist in the 2016 Kentucky Derby.

Steve Asmussen in the Triple Crown

Though he still seeks his first Kentucky Derby win, Steve Asmussen’s record in other jewels of the Triple Crown has been more fruitful.

Asmussen’s history in the Preakness Stakes dates back to 2000, when Snuck In finished fifth. He has won the Preakness twice from 16 starters, and both of those wins came with all-time great horses. Curlin, now a hall of famer and a superstar sire, turned the tables on Street Sense by winning the 2007 Preakness. Two years later, Rachel Alexandra followed up a blowout Kentucky Oaks victory with a front-running victory over Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird. Four other Steve Asmussen trainees have hit the board in the Preakness. Astrology was third in 2011, Tenfold was third in 2018, Midnight Bourbon finished second in 2021, and Epicenter did the same in 2022.

Only nine horses have come from Asmussen’s barn to run in the Belmont Stakes, but he already has a win to show for that, too. In 2016, Creator fought home late to win the Belmont by just a nose over Destin, giving Asmussen his first and so-far only victory in the final jewel of the Triple Crown. His only other Belmont contender to hit the board was the very first one he ran there: Curlin, who in 2007 lost a photo finish thriller to the filly Rags to Riches.

2025 Kentucky Derby contender Tiztastic

Tiztastic, the Louisiana Derby (G2) winner, is the better-regarded of two Steve Asmussen trainees slated to run in the 2025 Kentucky Derby. With eight starts behind him already, he is one of the more seasoned runners expected in the Kentucky Derby starting gate.

Two-Year-Old Season

Like so many Kentucky Derby prospects, Tiztastic began his career in a maiden race at Saratoga the summer of his juvenile year. Mired on the outside in a 10-horse field in that 6 ½-furlong sprint, he crossed the wire fifth behind an eventual Grade 1 winner who debuted in that same race—Chancer McPatrick.

Next out, on August 29, he stayed at the same distance, switched from dirt to the turf at Kentucky Downs—and faced winners, as he ran in allowance company restricted to horses who sold at the Keeneland September sale the year before. He rallied from midpack to win by 1 ¾ lengths.

Asmussen then wheeled him back in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile on September 8. The quick turnaround, extra distance, and step up to a stakes race were no problem for Tiztastic, who rallied to win by a neck over West Beach. The Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile has a surprisingly large Kentucky Derby footprint for a turf race—fourth-place Coal Battle is expected in the Run for the Roses, too.

Tiztastic switched to the dirt for his final two starts as a juvenile, which were both points prep races at Churchill Downs. Though he did not win either the Street Sense (G3) or the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2), he ran well enough in both to earn some Kentucky Derby points and prove he belonged on the trail. In the Street Sense, he was outfinished by Sovereignty but managed to outfinish Sandman for place in a race where the top three have all gone on to qualify for the first Saturday in May. Five weeks later, in the Kentucky Jockey Club, he tracked the pace and chugged on for third behind First Resort.

Three-Year-Old Season

Tiztastic kicked off his sophomore season in the Southwest (G3) at Oaklawn Park on January 25. It was the kind of race that likely taught him some valuable skills for the Kentucky Derby: he ran into snarls around both turns and still kept on with enough interest to outfinish the odds-on favorite Patch Adams for show, 2 ½ lengths behind frontrunning winner Speed King. He continued down the Oaklawn spur of the Kentucky Derby trail four weeks later in the Rebel (G2), chasing midfield and finishing an even fifth behind Coal Battle.

The Louisiana Derby on March 22 was Tiztastic’s fifth race in graded company, and it was his breakthrough effort. He settled near the rear of the field behind a hot early pace, swung into the lane, and ran on well. Tiztastic made the lead mid-stretch and took over to win by 2 ¼ lengths, notching his first graded-stakes win and marking himself as Steve Asmussen’s top contender for the 2025 Kentucky Derby.

2025 Kentucky Derby Contender Publisher

Publisher will not only get to Churchill Downs this spring without a graded-stakes win—he’ll get there without a win at all, as he is the only maiden who has qualified for the 2025 Kentucky Derby. However, with solid runs in recent prep races, this son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah is improving as he approaches the Kentucky Derby.

Two-Year-Old Season

Publisher raced four times as a juvenile, all in maiden special weight company. Though he never won, he hit the board all four times.

Publisher’s debut came August 12 at Ellis in a seven-furlong sprint. The odds-on chalk Authentic Strike led at every call that day. Publisher did mount a bid in upper stretch, but could not match the top two late and had to settle for show. It was a good enough effort to make him the favorite in a dirt mile at Churchill the next month, though he did a similar thing as he had at Ellis: chase in range and plug on for third. A stretch out to 1 1/16 miles at Churchill Downs on November 22 resulted in more of the same from Publisher; once again, he chased in range and kept on for the bronze medal, this time three lengths behind the winner.

He moved to Oaklawn before his fourth career start in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight there on December 29. That race was a significantly improved effort. American Promise—a Kentucky Derby qualifier himself, by virtue of winning the Virginia Derby—took the race gate to wire, winning by 1 ½ lengths. But, Publisher was actually gaining ground in the final furlong, and he finished 19 ½ lengths clear of the third-place finisher.

Three-Year-Old Season

That last race of 2024 was not a win, but it was enough for Asmussen to let Publisher compete on the Kentucky Derby trail. In the Southwest, he was making a good-looking rally up the rail, but his old friend American Promise came in and shoved him into the rail, stymieing his run and leaving him to settle for sixth, 6 ½ lengths behind Speed King. With such an excuse, Publisher stayed in graded company for the Rebel, where he ran into mild trouble down the lane but ran on for fourth, 3 ¾ lengths behind Coal Battle. He was gaining good ground in the final furlong, and even finished one place ahead of his winning stablemate Tiztastic.

Publisher returned in the Arkansas Derby (G1) on March 29, and got the perfect setup. He lagged in last early while Speed King and Cornucopian locked into a blistering duel. He rallied through the turn and into the lane, and though he was no match for 2 ½-lengths winner Sandman (another closer), he finished 4 ½ lengths clear of a plucky Coal Battle, earning 50 more Road to the Kentucky Derby points and earning a bid to Louisville even before a maiden win.

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