Todd Pletcher reached a career milestone at Santa Anita Park Jan. 13 when On the Virg won the eighth race to give the 41-year-old Texas native his 2,000th career victory.
“It’s an accomplishment we’re proud of, and credit goes to our entire team,” said Pletcher, a finalist for an Eclipse Award as leading trainer of 2007. “But to put it in perspective with something like Dale Baird did when he won 9,000, it’s a long way from that. We’ll keep trying and see if we can get to 2,001.”
Pletcher spoke in reference to the 9,445 races won by Baird, Thoroughbred racing’s all-time career leader, who died in a motor vehicle accident at the age of 72 Dec. 23.
When asked about his stable’s long-range plans, Pletcher said he would remain at Hollywood Park for training and continue to race his horses at Santa Anita this winter.
Pletcher is off to another good start in 2008. Through Jan. 13, he had 12 wins, seven seconds, and seven thirds from 39 starts. His horses have earned $557,161 thus far this year, according to figures provided by Equibase.