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Paco Lopez Scores 3,000th Career Win Via Disqualification

Jockey Paco Lopez notched his 3,000th win Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., reaching the career milestone via the disqualification of the first-place finisher in Race 2.

After notching win 2,999 aboard Our Little Devil ($5.20) in Race 1, Lopez was awarded the 3,000th victory of his career by the stewards, who placed Heart of God ($6) first in Race 2 following the disqualification of the first-place finisher. The 35-year-old journeyman came right back to win Race 3 aboard Eamonn ($5.60).

“It's exciting to make the milestone with my agent Cory Moran, who was with me from the beginning. It's also exciting to win my 3,000th race in South Florida, where I started,” Lopez said. “I won a lot of races in Mexico with the quarter horses, but to win 3,000 races in America with the best horses and the best jockeys, I'm feeling very lucky to be here.”

After riding quarter horses in his native Mexico from a young age, Lopez ventured to South Florida in 2006. Lopez rode his first winner July 13, 2007, at Calder. He won 229 races and nearly $4 million in purse earnings on his way to winning the Eclipse Award as champion apprentice in his first full season in 2008.

Lopez won back-to-back Championship Meet riding titles at Gulfstream in 2010 and 2011. He also won the 2019 Gulfstream Park West crown and owns 11 riding championships in New Jersey, eight of them at Monmouth Park, where he spends the summer and early fall.

Lopez was joined in the winner's circle for a special presentation by his wife Renata and two young sons.

“I'm very excited and I thank God for my family and for the chance to ride in America,” Lopez said.

Lopez has won 89 career graded-stakes, eight of them Grade 1, including his first in the 2014 Whitney (G1) with South Florida-based Itsmyluckyday and the 2018 Breeders' Cup Sprint aboard Roy H.

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‘He’s Like A Son To Me’: Agent Moran Reflects As Paco Lopez Approaches 3,000th Win

Popular and personable jockey Paco Lopez, an Eclipse Award winner and twice the leading rider during Gulfstream Park's prestigious Championship Meet, is on the verge of reaching a career milestone.

Lopez, 35, captured the eighth-race finale aboard Kahiko ($5), his lone victory from six mounts, as live racing returned to Gulfstream Thursday. He enters Friday's nine-race program (1 p.m. post time) with 2,998 career Thoroughbred wins according to Equibase statistics, which also noted one quarter horse win in 2009 at Hialeah. Lopez is named in six races Friday and 10 of 11 races Saturday.

“Just the thought of winning 3,000 races and being with him from the start is pretty phenomenal,” Lopez's agent, Cory Moran, said. “We've been together through this and it's been amazing.

“There's riders that get to 3,000, but I just think it's amazing we did it together. I'm grateful and blessed through this journey,” he added. “The journey has had its ups and downs but Paco's a good guy and a good rider, and I think we appreciate each other.”

Lopez is one of six children that grew up in poverty in Veracruz, Mexico, leaving home at age 12 to live with one of his sisters. He was shining shoes and working in a car wash for $30 a week when a customer offered him a ranch job. Soon he was riding in quarter horse races at bush tracks with incredible success, including winning all 13 races over a single weekend.

In 2006, Lopez relocated to South Florida to further his dream of becoming a jockey, working on a ranch in West Palm Beach and riding unsanctioned quarter horse races. He began exercising Thoroughbreds at Palm Meadows, Gulfstream's satellite training facility in Palm Beach County, and launched his professional career in June 2007 at the former Calder Race Course.

“Since the first time I met him, I just thought there was something special in him. He just had those hungry eyes,” Moran said. “He was like a little boy standing there. Bill White introduced me to him. He was the leading trainer at the time and he loved him.

“He introduced us and I decided to take him the day I met him,” he added. “It's been a constant win machine from that day. He's been like a whirlwind, and it's not slowing down. He's done a lot of remarkable things.”

Lopez rode his first winner July 13, 2007, at Calder and finished with 20 for the calendar year. He won 229 races, nearly $4 million in purse earnings, a Calder meet title and the Eclipse Award as champion apprentice in his first full season of 2008.

Overall, Lopez has won 200 or more races nine times ranked in the top 10 in North America in wins five times, including third in 2019 with a career-best 283. That year he also reached a personal high of $10.9 million in purses earned.

Lopez won back-to-back Championship Meet riding titles in 2010 and 2011, and is one of only four jockeys (Javier Castellano, Irad Ortiz Jr., Luis Saez) to win 100 or more races at Gulfstream's elite winter stand. He also won the 2019 Gulfstream Park West crown and owns 11 riding championships in New Jersey, eight of them at Monmouth Park where he spends the summer and early fall.

“In the early years, when he was having success at Monmouth and he won the Championship Meet twice, there were other agents trying to get him. But, Paco stayed loyal,” Moran said. “He believed in me and I believed in him. There's been riders that have been available and I don't even call them. He's such a good rider. I don't even think about it.”

Three times in his career, Lopez has won seven races on a single card. He did it twice in 2014 at Monmouth and again March 21, 2020, at Gulfstream, each time sharing the track record. Lopez earned his 2,000^th career win Dec. 4, 2016 at Gulfstream.

Overall, Lopez has won 89 career graded-stakes, eight of them Grade 1, including his first with South Florida-based Itsmyluckyday in the 2014 Woodward as well as the 2018 Breeders' Cup Sprint aboard Roy H. Last winter, he piloted Swiss Skydiver to victory in the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2); Swiss Skydiver would go on to beat males in the Preakness Stakes (G1) and be named champion 3-year-old filly.

“I've seen riders win seven [races] in a day here and there, but he's done it three times,” Moran said. “We've just had phenomenal success. He won a Breeders' Cup. He's won so many stakes from coast to coast. It's been like a whirlwind with him and his success.

“I'm just very fortunate to run into a rider like that and he turned out to be that way,” he added. “I've been an agent for a long time and I've had leading riders and stuff like that, but this is a long run with Paco. He's like family. He's like a son to me. It's been a good run.”

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Leparoux Joins Select Group With 500th Keeneland Win

Julien Leparoux made the most of his first mount of Keeneland's Spring Meet by riding Calumet Farm's homebred Gear Jockey to win the fifth race and record his 500^th career victory at lthe Lexington, Ky., racetrack. He became the fourth rider to reach that milestone, joining Hall of Famers Pat Day (918) and Don Brumfield (716) and Robby Albarado (526).

Leparoux won his first race at Keeneland during the 2005 Fall Meet, his first season as a jockey. Since then, he has earned 12 leading jockey titles at Keeneland, most recently during the 2019 Fall Meet.

“Keeneland has always been a place I love. This is my favorite track in America,” Leparoux said. “To win 500 here is special. I have my family here with me on a beautiful day. It's perfect.”

Leparoux's Keeneland success has helped him earn two Eclipse Awards for being the best in his field: as an apprentice in 2006 and again in 2009.

In his career, he has more than 2,700 victories and mount earnings of $173.8 million.

Gear Jockey, a 4-year-old colt by Twirling Candy, is trained by Rusty Arnold, who scored his 281st Keeneland win to tie Hall of Famer Bill Mott on second place on the list of Keeneland's all-time leading trainers by wins. Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas has a record 295 victories here.

Leparoux and Arnold increased their win totals in the final race when Reiko and Michael Baum's Illiogami rallied to notch her first victory.

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He’ll Have A Triple: Ferrer Bags Three Winners At Tampa Bay Downs On 57th Birthday

The calendar says jockey Jose Ferrer was a year older on Wednesday. Just don't tell that to his rival jockeys or the trainers and owners who continue to benefit from his skill and passion.

Ferrer rode three winners at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla., on his 57th birthday, then performed 20 pushups in the winner's circle after weighing in following the ninth race, which he won on 3-year-old filly Princess Nina.

“Hell, no,” Ferrer replied when asked if he felt 57. “Didn't you see me doing 20 after the race?”

Undoubtedly, he will feel even younger in a couple of hours when he shares ice cream and cake with his wife Steffi and their sons, Derek and Joseph.

Ferrer captured the first race aboard Mermaid Kisses, a 4-year-old filly owned by Ridenjac Racing, Dale Howes and Asta Fico and trained by Dennis Ward. The jockey added the eighth race with Papajudgy, a 5-year-old gelding owned and trained by Kerri Raven. Papajudgy was claimed from the race for $7,000 by trainer Darien Rodriguez for new owners Acclaimed Racing Stable and Gumpster Stable.

In the ninth race on the turf, Ferrer kept Princess Nina close up early, moved to the lead rounding the turn for home and coasted to a 4 ¾-length victory from Kitten With a Whip in the 1-mile contest. That victory moved him into a tie for seventh in the 2020-2021 Tampa Bay Downs standings with 29 victories.

Kentucky Derby Day tickets going fast. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, attendance at Tampa Bay Downs on May 1, Kentucky Derby Day, will be limited. As a result, tickets must be purchased in advance, either online or at the Customer Service window on the first floor of the Grandstand. Advance wagering on the Kentucky Derby will be available Friday, April 30.

A front-row box seat for six people in the Grandstand on May 1 is $350, with other boxes available for $250. General-admission tickets are $10 each, with seating on a first-come, first-serve basis. The gates will open at 10 a.m. and there will be a noon post time for the Tampa Bay Downs race program.

Picnic Area tickets are $10. Patrons must bring their own chairs. Kentucky Derby Picnic Area tables for six are $75. All prices include a service fee. Fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets early to avoid being shut out.

For details, visit www.tampabaydowns.com on the Internet or call (813) 855-4401.

Around the oval. Sosua turned in an eye-popping effort in her career debut in the second race, pulling away through the stretch of the six-furlong maiden special weight contest to a 12 ¾-length victory from Mastering Bela. Hector Diaz, Jr., was aboard Sosua. The winning 4-year-old daughter of Speightstown, out of the Unbridled's Song mare Cara Marie, stopped the timer in 1:11.51.

Sosua was a $260,000 purchase at the 2018 Keeneland Association September Yearling Sale. She is owned by Mark B. Grier and trained by Arnaud Delacour.

Another first-time starter won the third race on the turf, as 3-year-old filly Mago On My Mind, a 49-1 shot, strode clear in deep stretch under jockey Isaac Castillo to post a 2-length victory from Clap for Me. The winner, by Brethren out of the Congrats mare Ruby On My Mind, paid $101.80 to win after touring the 1-mile distance in 1:37.34.

Mago On My Mind is owned by Eduardo Murillo Ortega and trained by Antonio Machado.

Diaz, the jockey on Sosua, also won the sixth race on 3-year-old filly Will Take Roses after Sharon's Law was disqualified for interference through the stretch. Will Take Roses is owned by Angel Ubarri and trained by Victor Carrasco, Jr.

Thoroughbred racing continues Friday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:23 p.m. Following Saturday's card, Tampa Bay Downs will be closed on Easter Sunday, then pick up on Wednesday, April 7 with the 74^th day of the 2020-2021 meeting.

Otherwise, the track is open every day for simulcast wagering, no-limits action and tournament play in The Silks Poker Room and golf fun and instruction at The Downs Golf Practice Facility.

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