Trainer Eric Kruljac Secures 1,000th Win

Trainer Eric Kruljac won his 1,000th Thoroughbred race the night of Dec. 13 when even-money favorite Small Claims Court captured the sixth race at Los Alamitos Race Course.



It was the second win on Saturday night's mixed card for the 61-year-old Kruljac, who also saddled Thoroughbred Green Beret to victory in the first race, a maiden claiming event. Efrain Hernandez rode both winners.



The milestone win for Kruljac came in a $2,500 claiming event at 4 1/2 furlongs for fillies and mares with Small Claims Court, owned by Kings River Ranch. The 4-year-old California-bred daughter of Terrell took the lead at midstretch and opened up for a 1 3/4-length victory. Small Claims Court was claimed out of the race.



Kruljac grew up on a ranch in Northern California where his grandfather, Walter Markham, raised cattle and bred Thoroughbreds. After attending Arizona State University on a football scholarship, he began a 16-year career in the private detective business while also buying and selling horses.



At age 38, he became a full-time trainer at Turf Paradise in Arizona while also operating part of the year in Southern California. He switched full-time to Southern California in 2008.



His best horse to date is multiple graded stakes-winning filly Leave Me Alone, a California-bred who won the Test (gr. I) at Saratoga Race Course in 2005 and earned $653,330 in her career. Other stakes winners include Bauble Queen, who captured the 2012 Robert J. Frankel (gr. IIT), and multiple graded stakes-placed La Nez.



Kruljac's best season was 2005 when he won with 86 of his 383 starters and amassed purse earnings of more than $1.6 million. According to statistics from Equibase through Dec. 13, Kruljac has had 5,958 starters since 1986 and total purse earnings of $16,527,958. In addition to his wins, he has totaled 869 seconds and 812 third-place finishers.