Jockey Xavier Perez celebrated the 1,000th win of his career on Monday at Delaware Park, capturing the sixth race by a nose aboard the Jerry Robb-trained In The Loop.
“It's a big achievement for me,” Perez told The Racing Biz. “It's been ups and downs – more ups than downs. I had a couple of bad years, but it was just a little bump in the road. I went through it, and I'm here. I'm here.”
The 33-year-old native of Puerto Rico began his riding career at Charles Town, and moved to Maryland in 2011. His career-defining horse came in 2013 when he piloted Dance to Bristol to seven consecutive victories, including the G1 Ballerina at Saratoga.
Perez won just 22 races in both 2016 and 2017, but bounced back to double and then triple that total in the next two years.
His 1,000 victories have come from 8,134 mounts, with earnings approaching $26 million.
Read more at The Racing Biz and in this Maryland Jockey Club feature about the jockey.
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