Richard Vega Gets 1,000th Win

Trainer Richard Vega notched his 1,000th career victory Dec. 11 when Masio hit the wire first in the seventh race at Parx Racing. 

The 3-year-old daughter of Put it Back took the lead early under jockey J. D. Acosta in the seven-furlong claiming race. Favorite Girls and Guns made a run in the stretch, but Masio held on to win by a nose for owner Carlota Stable and Spyradon Karagiannis.

Vega, a Cuban native, came to the United States in 1980 and started as a groom and hot walker in Florida before becoming an assistant for trainer Al Hinston. He took out his training license in Pennsylvania in 1992. 

He reached 1,000 victories from 5,673 total starts, with earnings of $16,232,935. He has been ranked in the top 100 trainers by wins three times: 29th in 2000, 77th in 2002, and 82nd in 2001.

Some of Vega's notable wins include the 2015 Lyman Handicap with A Fleet Attitude; the 2011 West Virginia Division of Tourism Breeders' Classic Stakes, 2010 West Virginia Triple Crown Nutrition Breeders' Classic Stakes, and the 2010 Eleanor Casey Memorial Stakes with Princess Cecilia; 2008 Jostle Stakes and Trevose Stakes with Dulce Realidad; the 2003 Bergen County Stakes with College Honor; and the 2001 Iron Horse Stakes with Gotthard.