Wethey Earns 1,000th Victory Sept. 17 at Remington Park

Jockey Floyd Wethey Jr. nailed down the 1,000th victory of his career Sept. 17 when he guided Cimarron TTT Farms' homebred Elijah Anet to a front-running victory in the fourth race at Remington Park.

Wethey gives credit for reaching the milestone to the support of those around him and riding for 14 years, with relatively few injuries.

"I started riding when I was 17 and I had always hoped to reach milestones like this," said Wethey, who calls home both Bluejacket, Okla. and Oklahoma City. "It's a great milestone and not a whole lot of people do it. I've had a lot of help. I thank the good Lord that I have so many friends and family that support me."

Sent off at 5-2 odds in Thursday's 5 1/2-furlong claiming race, Wethey and Elijah Anet opened a five-length lead in the stretch and cruised to a 3 1/4-length win. Elijah Anet is trained by Scott Young.

"I've ridden a lot of great horses that gave me thrills, winning Oklahoma Classics races and other stakes," said Wethey. "I had Reel Chrome, Steal Your Face, and Okie Ride and they all are very special. Hey, I even get attached to the claimers. Reel Chrome, she was tough as nails."

He will certainly always remember one claimer, Elijah Anet.

"The meet has been great so far; (agent) Bubba (Wood) has gotten me on some good horses and I've been lucky enough to win a few," he said. "Looking back, I've won two or three riding titles at Claremore (Will Rogers Downs) and three or four in Tulsa (Fair Meadows). I'm just going to keep on keeping on."

Wethey began riding in 2007, winning 21 races in his first year and his mounts making $198,195. He quickly boosted that to 83 wins the next year with his horses winning $1.3 million. Twelve of the 14 years of riding his horses have surpassed $1 million in earnings, including in 2020. His most rewarding year came in 2018 when they banked $2 million.

He has surpassed 100 wins in a year twice: 109 in 2009 and 103 in 2017.