Douglas earns 3,000th career win

Rene Douglas reached a milestone in his career on Thursday (Benoit Photo)

Jockey Rene Douglas recorded his 3,000th career win on Thursday when guiding
GREY MISTY (Smoke Glacken) to victory in the 5TH race at Santa Anita. The Bill
Spawr-trained four-year-old gelding raced in fourth for much of the 6
1/2-furlong test before finishing two lengths in front of his nearest rival
while stopping the clock in 1:16.

“It’s great, it’s exciting and hard to describe,” Douglas said after the
race. “I feel good. I want to thank God for giving me the energy to continue to
do well. I want to thank the fans who come to the races and watch, the trainers
and owners who give me the opportunity and believe in me. I’m very proud to
reach this mark.”

The 37-year-old rider entered Thursday’s card needing just one win to achieve
the milestone score and became the 122nd jockey in North America to do so. He
added that he was glad the 3,000th win came on a horse trained by Spawr. The
trainer was instrumental when Laffit Pincay Jr. broke Bill Shoemaker’s world
record mark of 8,833 wins in 1999.

“I’m happy to win for Bill Spawr,” he said. “He did a lot for my friend and
countryman Laffit Pincay and I appreciate that because Laffit’s always been good
to me.”