The yacht's original owner was Edward W. Hopkins, heir to the wealth of his uncle, Mark Hopkins, for whom the Mark Hopkins Hotel is named.
Also in 1993 he helped Antena 3 Radio anchoring the program El primero de la mañana.
Born into a horse racing family, his parents, Keith and Marilyn "Sis" Asmussen, are both trainers who operate El Primero Training Center off the Mines Road in Laredo, the seat of Webb County in south Texas.