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(Associated Press) - Steve Asmussen hit the jackpot seven years ago with Rachel Alexandra. Soon, they'll be together again — in the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame.
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Sort of difficult for the 50-year-old trainer from South Dakota to believe.
"In horse racing, it's unique in the fact that you go in (to the Hall of Fame) while you're still doing it and being honored," Asmussen said Monday at Churchill Downs, where he's training Kentucky Derby hopefuls Gun Runner and Creator. "I feel like we're just in the middle of the career, in the middle of what we're going to get done. Just very blessed with the opportunities we have and continue to be given, and will try to make the best of them."
Rachel Alexander was a special horse. She was the first filly to win the Preakness since 1924 and had 13 wins in 19 starts, earning $3.5 million.
"To be able to go in with Rachel is special, and then some," added Asmussen, who ranks second all-time with more than 7,280 wins and fourth in earnings with $241 million since starting his training career in 1986.
Also elected Monday were jockey Ramon Dominguez, whose career was cut short by injury, and champion racehorse Zenyatta, who won 19 of 20 starts and earned $7.3 million.
It was as a 3-year-old that Rachel Alexandra zoomed to stardom, winning all eight of her starts in 2009. The wins came at seven different tracks, starting with a victory in the Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn Park. She then won the Fair Grounds Oaks and Fantasy Stakes before her 20¼-length win in the Kentucky Oaks.
Rachel Alexandra defeated Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in the Preakness. She then romped by 19¼ lengths in the Mother Goose, defeated Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird in the Haskell Invitational by six lengths and topped older males in a dramatic Woodward victory at Saratoga to conclude her undefeated campaign.
The 39-year-old Dominguez, a native of Caracas, Venezuela, won 4,985 races and $191,620,277 from 1996-2013 before suffering a fractured skull in a spill in January 2013. His mount, Convocation, stumbled and fell in a race at Aqueduct, pitching Dominguez onto the winterized inner track.
The injury ended an impressive career.
Dominguez, who had the 20-year requirement for induction waived because of the injury, captured the Eclipse Award three straight times (2010-12) and led all North American riders in earnings each of those years, setting a record of $25,639,432 in 2012. He also won 20 meet riding titles on the New York Racing Association circuit, including a record 68 wins at Saratoga in 2012.
Zenyatta won 17 graded stakes, including 13 Grade 1s, and was undefeated until her final start, losing to Blame in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Still, she had earnings of $1,830,000 and was named Horse of the Year in 2010.
Induction is Aug. 12 in Saratoga Springs, New York.
