Jockey Mena Records 2,000th Career Victory

Popular rider Miguel Mena hit milestone win number 2,000 after taking the fifth race July 3 at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky. The victory came aboard Michael Langford's Substantial ($6.80) in a one-mile maiden special weight on the turf for trainer Randy Morse. 

"People on Twitter had told me I was one win away," said Mena, a native of Peru. "I've been riding since I was 16 and I came to the U.S. when I was 17... so it's been awhile ... I've been here 15 years. I feel good about 2,000. I've put a lot of hard work into it and it has paid off. I came with a lot (of) dreams and I was very hungry and worked my ass off. I'm very grateful for this country and it has given me a better life, not only for me but (for) my family. I'm very grateful to America.

"I appreciate all of the ups and downs I've been through and it has made me mature. Things now are going the right way; knock wood."

Huge congrats to @_MIGUELMENA_ on career win 2,000 as Michael Langford's Randy Morse-trained 3yo Substantial wires field in Friday's 5th at the RUNHAPPY Summer Meet at Ellis Park. #WellDone! @joesantos_33 @JockeyTalk @JockeysGuild pic.twitter.com/7Qsf0nzpqf

— Ellis Park Racing & Gaming (@EllisParkRacing) July 3, 2020

Mena was the leading rider at Ellis Park in 2006. He was aboard Tom's d'Etat June 27, winning the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs.

That stakes win was his biggest since a frightening accident in the eighth race at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots March 15, 2018. Leading the Fair Grounds rider standings with just a couple weeks remaining in the 2017-2018 meet, he was one of three riders to go down in a spill, and his fall resulted in him fracturing his right ankle in 10 places.

As he recovered with his ankle in a splint, large blisters developed afterward around his injured ankle, and these complications prevented doctors from being unable to perform surgery to reset the bones, Mena said. The result: his right ankle is misshapen, leaving him with lingering swelling, pain, and arthritis.

Even now, he cannot walk without pain. Running, which he once did to shed pounds to keep his weight light, is out of the question. Only through extensive physical therapy was he able to return to the riding, doing so on October 25, 2018, roughly seven months after the injury.

For his determination to recover from injury, this spring he was voted as the first recipient of Randy Romero Pure Courage Award. 

Mena, 33, comes off one of his best years in 2019. Last year his mounts made more than $5.6 million in winning 109 races from 1,001 rides. Before Friday's results were tabulated by Equibase, he had 34 wins this year and earnings in excess of $1.3 million from 286 rides.

He began riding in the U.S. in 2003 after immigrating from Peru, where he had attended the Jorge Bernardini Yori Jockey School that produced Edgar Prado and Rafael Bejarano.