"I'm a lot smarter now than when I first started riding," said King. "I use my brain now more than ever. Two thousand is wonderful, but I wish it was 3,000. I've missed an awful lot of time over the years due to injuries. My one goal is to make it to 3,000. That is the one thing I want more than anything."A New Mexico native who now resides in Mt. Laurel, N.J., King piloted Frisk Me Now, who won the 1999 Iselin at Monmouth Park along with the Hutcheson, Flamingo, Ohio Derby, Pennsylvania Derby, Suburban, and Gulfstream Park Sprint.
Jockey Eddie King Jr. recorded his 2,000th career victory aboard Annies Fuse in the fifth race on Saturday night at the Meadowlands. The 47-year-old rider guided the 2-year-old filly to a 1:10.4 clocking in the six-furlong event and paid $9.80 to win. King, a third generation jockey, won his first race in 1979 at Centennial in Colorado. He regularly rides the New Jersey circuit and was the Meadowlands' leading jockey in 2002.