Jockey Ramon Vazquez needed two victories going into the Oct. 5 card at Remington Park to reach the 1,000-win milestone in the United States. He achieved that mark and went beyond with a five-win evening Thursday.
The four-time defending leading jockey at Remington, Vazquez entered the night with 998 wins since beginning his career in the U.S. in 2011. Prior to that, Vazquez accumulated 1,567 wins in his native Puerto Rico.
Vazquez, 32, had seven mounts lined up for the Thursday program. He quickly put the milestone to rest with wins in his second and third races of the night. Victory 999 came aboard Sparkled in the second race of the night. Then in the fourth race, Vazquez hit the 1,000-win mark aboard Eurobond. The plateau win came while riding for leading Remington owner Danny Caldwell of Poteau, Okla. Vazquez has ridden first-call for Caldwell every year of his current reign atop the Remington jockey colony.
He scored three more times, starting with K Kool in the fifth race. The final pair of wins came in the sixth race aboard Good Omen and in the ninth on Make Amends.
The five-win night gives Vazquez 20 victories for the season and puts him into a second-place tie in the standings with David Cabrera. Richard Eramia leads the colony with 25 victories.