Steve Assmusen Fires Shots at Umberto Rispoli for Preakness Stakes Ride

One man’s breathtaking race is another’s devastating result. Last weekend’s Preakness Stakes delivered drama down the stretch that is still being debated among the biggest players in horse racing.

Journalism was the pre-race favorite ahead of both Triple Crown races. After a second-place finish at the Kentucky Derby, jockey Umberto Rispoli positioned the horse near the rail as they made the final turn. As they approached traffic, Rispoli kept Journalism inside, rather than bouncing wide. It resulted in a bouncy rise.

Journalism bumped into Flavien Prat and Goal Oriented on the outside, and Jose Ortiz on Clever Again on the inside. Despite taking the bump, Journalism still had enough in the tank to catch Gosger and win the Preakness Stakes.

At the time, the NBC lauded Umberto Rispoli’s “bravery.” Days after the race, Clever Again’s Hall of Fame trainer is among the many calling out the dangerous ride by Rispoli.

“Quit riding him like a rented mule,” scoffed Steve Asmussen.

What bravery from Journalism and Umberto Rispoli to make the winning moves at #Preakness150. 👏 pic.twitter.com/QvbUsdUo75

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) May 18, 2025

Asmussen is the trainer of Clever Again, who entered the Preakness as the second-choice following back-to-back wins. Bettors who backed Clever Again or Goal Oriented quickly denounced what others considered a magnificent win for Journalism. Asmussen has an even bigger ax to grind. Not only is he worried about his horse, who pulled up on the inside after taking contact from Journalism, but he believes Rispoli put all of the horses in danger by bullying his way through traffic, instead of bouncing outside.

“I strongly believe that Prat’s horse (Goal Oriented, on the outside) turns in when he gets hit in the ass,” Asmussen told Steve Byk’s At The Races radio show this week. “That’s what happens when you get hit in the ass; if your ass goes one way, what direction does your head go? I mean, come on.

“He had the most horse, and he had the best horse in the race, and he won the race by a half-length. He was loaded. He had a shot to go out at the three-eighths. I guess he didn’t think he had enough horse to go around them, so he better get lucky and get through.”

In this humble fan’s opinion, if Journalism had enough to take a bump and win, he had enough to go three wide and run down the field.

Rispoli Defends Preakness Ride

When Asmussen’s comments began making the rounds, it didn’t take long for Journalism’s jockey to defend his ride. Umberto Rispoli told Thoroughbred Daily News that he made the right decision in the Preakness.

“I know this has been controversial. A lot of people are saying it was my fault and a lot of people were saying it was Flavien (Prat)’s fault. A lot of people said I should have gone outside, while others said I made the right move by staying inside. You’re on a horse, you’re going 45 miles an hour and you have to make a decision when you can,” Rispoli said.

“When I ducked out with my horse around the half-mile pole I was going nowhere. Nobody thought I was on the horse to beat at that point. Everybody thought I had no horse at the time. My intention was to take him out to see if he would give me any response like he did in the Kentucky Derby. In a couple of strides he didn’t do it and the turn was approaching. At that point I had to make a decision.”

In short, Rispoli is telling the world that despite what you may think, his horse wasn’t going to win by going wide. Rispoli saw a tight lane develop and he took it to secure a win.

“I am not a kamikaze rider. I have a wife and two kids and I didn’t want to kill myself or see anyone get killed. It’s easy for people to say that he should have gone around the other horses, but if I’m ever in a position like that again and think I can win if I save ground I’m going to do it.

“Flavien and I are friends but on the track we need to respect the colors we are wearing. There is no friendship on the track. Did he put me in tight? Yes. Was I already there? Yes. The gap was there and that’s why I took it. I’m not going to drive my horse in a way where I put myself at risk of going down.”

Horse Racing has a Stewards Problem (but a Great Controversy)

Asmussen’s “mule” comment takes up all of the headlines. Hopefully, all of that attention then turns to the stewards. To compare it to college football, Asmussen went on his Monday coach’s show and called out the refs for missing a blatant targeting call that they didn’t review.

“I think it’s on the stewards,” said the winningest trainer in North America. “What we’re under to get a horse to run, and how sound they are, who they’re gonna let run here, there, and the other. I mean, that’s hard enough to keep ’em going in a straight line carrying their own weight. How about you quit letting them run into each other?

“At no point is what actually is happening being addressed. It’s commented on, but it’s never addressed. They’ll pull you up on the carpet over a licensing issue or something like that, but putting people and horses in danger, ‘Oh, I don’t see nothin.’

“You question any of them, and ‘How dare you show that amount of disrespect?’ How about show a little respect to the horses, the reason we’re all here. Can’t we do better?”

Junior Alvarado got suspended for using the whip one too many times on Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby. Using the whip two too many times is inconsequential. The contact in the Preakness could have killed a person or a horse, and absolutely nothing was done. They didn’t even have an inquiry just to check the replay to see if it was a fair ride.

Horse racing has a consistency problem with its stewards, but this is actually a great thing in the short term. We have the most successful trainer in North America publicly feuding with the jockey of the most popular three-year-old ahead of the third leg of the Triple Crown. Any publicity is good for this sport, especially one that forces fans to take sides. This feud should add more fireworks to the build-up ahead of the Belmont Stakes.