Jockey DeShawn L. Parker reached a career milestone when he won his 4,000th career victory aboard Cuban Carmen in the third race at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort May 6. The night before, the 41-year-old Parker had won six races at the track in Chester, W. Va.
Trained by Valerie K. Haller for owner Marilyn J. Shanyfelt, Cuban Carmen paid $11.80 to win.
Parker has been the nation’s leading rider by wins the past two years. In 2010 he became the first black jockey to win the most North American races since James “Soup” Perkins achieved the feat in 1895. He is the all-time leading jockey at Mountaineer.
At The Jockeys’ Guild’s annual assembly earlier this year, he was presented with the Laffit Pincay Jr. Award, which goes to a Thoroughbred jockey for outstanding achievement during the year.