2021 Whitney Stakes Program, Saratoga, Knicks Go, Steve Asmussen Sets Record

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Up for sale is a program from the 2021 Whitney Stakes at the Saratoga Race Course. It was won by Knicks Go with Joel Rosario up. Also on this day Steve Asmussen set the record for most wins by a North American trainer. It's in nice shape. Thanks for looking.
Knicks Go, a Maryland-bred Paynter colt owned by the Korean syndicate KRA Stud Farm, won his career debut in a five-furlong race at Ellis Park during summer 2018 by an eye-catching 3 ½ lengths despite racing greenly. He was then ambitiously placed in the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga, when he ran a distant fifth, but rebounded somewhat in his next start when he finished third in the Arlington Washington Futurity on that track’s artificial surface.
Knicks Go, a Maryland-bred Paynter colt owned by the Korean syndicate KRA Stud Farm, won his career debut in a five-furlong race at Ellis Park during summer 2018 by an eye-catching 3 ½ lengths despite racing greenly. He was then ambitiously placed in the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga, when he ran a distant fifth, but rebounded somewhat in his next start when he finished third in the Arlington Washington Futurity on that track’s artificial surface.
That set up a start in the Oct. 6 Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity, a “Win and You’re In” qualifying race for the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Under jockey Albin Jiminez, Knicks Go led from start to finish, winning by 5 ½ lengths at huge 70-1 odds. His win gave trainer Ben Colebrook his first Grade 1 victory.
Knicks Go turned in a heroic effort in the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile, surging past pacesetter Complexity to seize command and battling gamely with heavily favored Game Winner before yielding grudgingly late in a runner-up finish. Knicks Go faded badly in his final start as a 2-year-old when finishing 11th of 14 in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs.
In his 3-year-old debut, Knicks Go ran fifth, beaten by 13 lengths, in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes on Feb. 9 at Tampa Bay Downs. He then was unplaced in three starts before running second in the Ellis Park Derby in August 2019. The winless streak extended to 10 races, including a start on turf in his final race of 2019.
Transferred to trainer Brad Cox, Knicks Go turned things around in 2020. He posted a dominant front-running allowance win Feb. 22 at Oaklawn Park, pulling away to win by 7 1/2 lengths. In October at Keeneland, he used similar tactics to win another allowance race by 10 1/4 lengths going 1 1/16 miles at Keeneland.
Returning to stakes competition for the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile Nov. 7 at Keeneland, Knicks Go set a blistering pace and had plenty left in the stretch for a runaway 3 1/2-length victory in a track record time of 1:33.85 for one mile.
In his 2021 debut, Knicks Go once again turned in a dominant gate-to-wire performance. He won the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 23, going the 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.89. The winning streak came to a halt in the -million Saudi Cup when Knicks Go faded to finish a well-beaten fourth at King Abdulaziz Racetrack on Feb. 20.
Knicks Go was the odds-on favorite in his return to the races in the Grade 1 Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park on June 5. After setting the pace, he faded in the stretch and finished fourth. However, he bounced back with an explosive 10 1/4-length win in the Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap on July 2.
Knicks Go earned his second grade 1 win of the year on Aug. 7 at Saratoga, when he won the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes in impressive gate-to-wire fashion. With that win, Knicks Go earned a spot in the starting gate for the Grade 1 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 6.
Steven Mark Asmussen (born November 18, 1965) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. The leading trainer in North America by wins,[2] he is a two-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2016. His horses have won the Breeders' Cup Classic, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, Breeders' Cup Distaff, Kentucky Oaks and Dubai World Cup.
Asmussen won his first race as a trainer in 1986 at Ruidoso Downs. In 1987, he won his first stakes race with Scout Command in the Bessemer Stakes at Birmingham Race Course. His first graded stakes win did not come until 1996 when he took the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs with Valid Expectations. In 1999, he recorded his first Grade I win in the Mother Goose with Dreams Gallore.[4]
Some of Asmussen's top horses came about as a result of his partnership with the late Jess Jackson, a wine entrepreneur who was also a horse owner and breeder; Jackson's racing operation was Stonestreet Stables. The pair campaigned Curlin and Rachel Alexandra. Another major client is Winchell Thoroughbreds, who own champions Untapable and Gun Runner.[5]
Three Asmussen-trained horses have won individual American Triple Crown races. The first was Stonestreet-owned Curlin,[8] who finished third in the 2007 Kentucky Derby, but then defeated Derby-winner Street Sense to win the 2007 Preakness Stakes.[9] Curlin then finished second in the 2007 Belmont Stakes to filly Rags to Riches,[10] and went on to take the Breeders' Cup Classic that same year.[9] Curlin would win more Grade and Group 1 races in 2008, including the Dubai World Cup,[11] Stephen Foster Handicap[12] and Woodward Stakes. For his accomplishments, he was named American Horse of the Year in both 2007 and 2008.[13]
Rachel Alexandra won the 2009 Kentucky Oaks with another trainer. She was acquired by Stonestreet after her win and transferred to the barn of Asmussen. Under the new partnership, Rachel Alexandra with jockey Calvin Borel became the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness Stakes. She would beat colts again in the Haskell Invitational and win over older males in the Woodward Stakes en route to American Horse of the Year honors for 2009.[5]
Asmussen also trained Creator, who won the 2016 Belmont Stakes.[14] The owners of Creator selected Asmussen to train the horse because they were impressed by his handling of other offspring by leading sire Tapit.[15] These include champion Untapable (Kentucky Oaks, Breeders' Cup Distaff) and Tapizar (Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile).[5]
In 2002, Asmussen was the leading North American trainer by number of wins with 407 wins, a title he has since repeated eight times. In 2004, he set a single-season record for wins by a trainer with 555, surpassing the previous standard of 496 held since 1976 by Jack Van Berg. He broke that record in 2008 with 622 wins, then broke it again in 2009 with 650.[3]
In 2008, Asmussen received the Eclipse Award as Outstanding Trainer. Not only did he set the single-season for number of wins, he was also the leading trainer in North America by earnings. His horses won 81 black-type races, including 19 graded stakes races.[16]
In 2009, Asmussen received his second Eclipse Award after again leading the earnings list and setting a record for number of wins. "It's just been very rewarding to have such an amazing run," he said. "It doesn't feel like proving anything - it's just fun to win."[17]
On March 28, 2013, Asmussen became the second-winningest trainer in North American history with his 6,418th career win behind only Dale Baird, who had 9,445 career wins. Asmussen gave credit to his assistant trainers Scott Blasi, Darren Fleming and Toby Sheets, who allow him to maintain divisions in Arkansas, Louisiana, New York, and Texas.[5][3]
Asmussen's nomination into American thoroughbred racing's Hall of Fame was removed from the agenda in 2014 because of allegations by PETA he had committed cruelty to animals.[18] Following the conclusion of two state investigations, Asmussen was restored to eligibility for Hall of Fame consideration in 2016,[19] and was inducted into the Hall of Fame that year along with the filly Rachel Alexandra.[20]
Gun Runner was a contender for the American classic races as a three-year-old colt in 2016 and developed into the top older horse of 2017 when he won five of six starts including the Breeders' Cup Classic. He also won the Stephen Foster, Whitney and Woodward.[21]
On May 5, 2018, Asmussen earned his 8,000th win with Lookin At Lee at Churchill Downs. Lookin At Lee had finished second in the Kentucky Derby one year before.[22]
On August 7, 2021, Asmussen surpassed the late Dale Baird to become the leading trainer in North America by wins when Stellar Tap won the fifth race at Saratoga Race Course. The New York Racing Association presented him with a lawn jockey to commemorate the achievement.