Maximum Effort seeks break through win in W.Va. Derby
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NEW CUMBERLAND -- Maximum Effort, third in the Iowa Derby and Texas Derby in his last two starts, seeks the first win of his career in the $400,000 Grade III West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Casino, Resort & Races on Sunday.
It may seem like a tall order, but he has the right connections. His trainer, Steve Asmussen, holds the West Virginia Derby record of six wins, and his owner, Winchell Thoroughbreds, has won three editions of the 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds, all of them with Asmussen.
Winchell Thoroughbreds purchased the Maxfield colt for $600,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September yearling sale. In his career debut in a maiden special weight race in October 2025, Maximum Effort sat just behind the leader, took a half-length lead in the stretch but came up a neck short the finish.
This year, Maximum Effort finished third twice in maiden special weight company before stepping up to stakes company and producing the two qualify efforts in Indiana and Texas.
Ramon Vazquez will ride Maximum Effort for the first time in the West Virginia Derby, which attracted a field of eight.
"He has plenty of talent and he is coming around to himself," Asmussen said of Maximum Effort. "We've had success in the West Virginia Derby, and we hope to continue the trend. It does appear to be a wide-open race.
"He didn't come out of the gate that well in the Iowa Derby, so I thought it was a fairly strong race for him. And he does have speed."
Asmussen also trains Publisher, a 4-year-old American Pharoah colt who in 2025 raced in six consecutive 3-year-old stakes as a maiden. He finished second in the Grade I Arkansas Derby, 14th in the Grade I Kentucky Derby, and then fourth in the Indiana Derby and Oklahoma Derby, both Grade III events.
In three consecutive starts at Oaklawn Park earlier this year, Publisher broke his maiden, won an allowance race and then captured the American Pharoah overnight stakes. He has earned more than $806,000 thus far in his career.
First post time for the West Virginia Derby program is 5 p.m. Admission tickets for Sunday are required for attendance and are available online at the Mountaineer website, at the Mountaineer gift shop, or at the gate the day of the event. Doors open at 2 p.m., and there will be live entertainment from 2:30-4 p.m.