SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, a mainstay on the New York Racing Association circuit for the last two decades, will no longer maintain a year-round presence in the state he said Friday. Asmussen, who has 40 horses based at Saratoga this summer, has emptied his barn at Belmont Park, one which he has maintained since 2004. Asmussen said his stable was around 12-to-15 on a year-round basis at Belmont. Asmussen said the economics of doing business downstate, which includes added costs associated with stabling at Belmont Park but having to ship to Aqueduct to run was a major factor in the decision. “Can’t make ends meet,” said Asmussen, the sport’s all-time leading trainer in wins with 10,223. “Stabling at Belmont and shipping to run at Aqueduct, it’s ship and run anyway. We’ll continue to ship and run, but keeping a barn open at Belmont has not been feasible.” Asmussen’s participation had dwindled over the years downstate. He went 4 for 17 at the 2023 Belmont spring meet. He had run just 20 horses from the Aqueduct fall to spring meets. :: DRF's 2023 Saratoga headquarters: Previews, past performances, picks, recaps, news, and more. Asmussen typically keeps horses stabled in Saratoga after the meet ends and several of those will run at the Belmont at Aqueduct fall meet, which begins Sept. 14. “We’re going to stay at Saratoga and ship to Aqueduct to run as long as the weather allows us to stay here as opposed to stabling at Belmont and shipping to Aqueduct,” Asmussen said. For the second straight year, Belmont’s fall meet will be run at Aqueduct. The immediate future of where Belmont Park’s spring meet will be run is also in question owing to a planned renovation project that includes the demolition of the current grandstand and the construction of a new one. Asmussen has been fined multiple times by the U.S. Department of Labor for failing to pay proper wages to his help. Earlier this month, he reached a settlement with the Labor Board to reimburse hotwalkers and groom $130,000. Under the settlement, Asmussen will also pay $75,000 in fines and will be subject to a number of measures to ensure “future compliance” with H-2B regulations. In 2021, Asmussen reached a consent order with the Department of Labor requiring his stable to pay $563,000 in back wages and damages to 170 employees because of a failure to pay overtime and related record-keeping violations. Asmussen said his battles with the Labor Board also played a role in his decision to leave New York on a full-time basis. “Of course,” he said. “That adds to the expense of it. We disagree with their math.” Asmussen has had many memorable moments at Belmont Park, including the 2016 Belmont Stakes victory with Creator and back-to-back wins by Curlin in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the second one in 2008 resulting in Curlin becoming the first North American-based horse to surpass the $10 million mark in earnings. :: Visit the Saratoga Handicapping Store for Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Picks, Betting Strategies, and more. “It’s the evolution of racing, I imagine I’m not the only one feeling this,” Asmussen said. “You have to do what is right for the horses that are in your stable at the time. The great memories of Creator’s Belmont and Curlin’s Jockey Club Gold Cup wins, we’re not in those times. We’re not running those horses in those races.” Asmussen, who won his sixth race of the Saratoga meet on Friday, will be a major player on next Saturday’s Travers Day card. He will run Disarm in the $1.25 million Travers, Gunite in the $500,000 Forego, and Echo Zulu in the Grade1 Ballerina. He also has Clairiere for Friday’s Grade 1 Personal Ensign. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.