Jockey Steve Bourque reached a milestone in his career at Evangeline Downs July 27.
The 53-year-old native of Louisiana recorded his 4,000th win aboard Pitts Racing Stables Speed Horse's Space Book in the second race, a $5,000 claimer for fillies and mares.
Bourque has been a mainstay in Louisiana since 1979, when he began his career at the original Evangeline Downs in Carencro. His first win came aboard the Terry Romero trainee Royal Avery. His richest tally came with Nitro Chip, who won the $200,000 Gold Cup at Delta Downs in 2004 for trainer Sam Breaux.
After retiring from the saddle from 2010 to 2015, Bourque returned to racing at Delta Downs earlier this year. The time off was for a job he took with his father-in-law, Joe Coulatta, who owned an oil services business in the Lafayette, La., area, which eventually shut down leading to Bourque's return to racing. Bourque now ranks 68th, tied with Hugo Dittfach, among North American jockeys in all-time wins.