By Bill Finley
Already the winningest trainer in the history of North American racing, Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen is close to another milestone, his 10,000th career win.
Asmussen entered Thursday with 9,997 wins and had only one starter on the day, Flute Master (Gun Runner) in a maiden special weight race at Turfway Park.
After a quiet day for the barn, Asmussen's stable will go into overdrive on Friday. He has 13 horses entered in 11 races. His day will begin at Oaklawn Park, where he has entries in seven races. He has three horses entered at the Fair Grounds, two at Sam Houston and one at Turfway Park.
If he doesn't reach 10,000 on Friday he'll be back at it on Saturday. Asmussen has entered 26 horses in 19 races carded for Saturday. He has eight entrants at Oaklawn, eight at Sam Houston, nine at the Fair Grounds and one at Turfway Park. Asmussen's Saturday entries include three horses entered in the GII Risen Star S. at the Fair Grounds, Harlocap (Justify), Silver Heist (Tapit) and Private Creed (Jimmy Creed).
After he reaches the 10,000 mark, the next target for Asmussen could be Peruvian trainer Juan Suarez, the winningest trainer worldwide. Through Feb. 15, Suarez had 10,333 wins.
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