Asmussen Named Outstanding Apprentice Jockey

Winning clearly runs in the Asmussen family. Racing Hall of Fame member Steve Asmussen is North America's all-time winningest trainer, and in 2024 his youngest son Erik won more races than any other apprentice jockey and was honored with the 2024 Eclipse Award for outstanding apprentice rider.

Asmussen, 22, led all apprentice riders in 2024 in a slew of categories including starts (793), wins (127), second-place finishes (116), and earnings ($5,078,150).

Based in Texas the first half of the year, Asmussen moved to Kentucky after securing the Lone Star Park meet riding title. He won six stakes, the richest of which was Gulfport 's victory in the $300,000 Bet on Sunshine Stakes Nov. 2 at Churchill Downs.

Notably, apprentice riders do not receive their customary weight break in black-type events, but Asmussen often did not take full advantage of his weight allowance in overnight races

"Because of my frame—I am 5-9 1/2—weight is an extreme challenge for me. The lightest I could tack while maintaining my best performance was 118," Asmussen said. "A lot of the time I didn't get an allowance against the other riders. It was a performance-oriented decision. If I tried to go any lighter, I felt it would be more of a detriment than a positive."

Asmussen also won the $100,000 Circle City Stakes aboard Jazzole  at Horseshoe Indianapolis and four stakes in Texas.

Four of his stakes wins came aboard horses trained by his father, but Asmussen was riding for trainer Jayde Gelner when he won the $82,125 Assault Stakes aboard Mor Victory  July 13 at Lone Star Park. He also guided No Mas Tequila  to win the $75,000 San Jacinto Turf Stakes March 23 at Sam Houston Race Park for trainer Karen Jacks.

"My dad is my greatest supporter and it's really fun to do something you love with the people you love, that's for sure," Asmussen said. "I hope I showed people how hard I tried, because that's what the horse deserves."