Trainer Dan McFarlane notched the 1,000th victory of his career when he saddled Enter Back to victory in the ninth race at Turf Paradise Dec. 23.
The California-bred daughter of Redattore, who has now won or placed in four of 10 starts, is owned by McFarlane's longtime client Hal Earnhardt.
"It was fun to get the 1,000th win for Hal Earnhardt," said McFarlane. "I've been with him for a long time, so it was nice to win it for him. You don't realize until you sit back and look at it ...1,000 is quite a big number. It felt pretty good to accomplish that."
McFarlane, 48, has been training for more than two decades. He scored his first victory in 1989 at Rillito Park in Tucson, Ariz., with Avocado Green. The Pontiac, Ill., native then moved to Turf Paradise to train for Jim and Dennis Weir, who have annually ranked among the leading owners in Arizona.
McFarlane got his start in the industry working for Quarter Horse trainers Owen McDaniel and John Bassett. He later worked a stint under Thoroughbred trainer Michael Dickinson in Maryland in 1987.
Among McFarlane's best horses are 2013 stakes winners Red Zeus, Of Royalty, Az Ridge, Smarty B, and Southern Chatter. He also trained two-time Arizona champion filly Page Springs.
