Frank Alvarado had a good indication he had achieved his 4,000th career win at Golden Gate Fields early Sunday afternoon while galloping back to the grandstand aboard Shout It Out. Shout It Out won a six-furlong race for $4,000 claimers by a nose, but when the race ended Alvarado was not certain the 5-year-old mare reached the front in time. “When I passed the wire, I said, ‘I might get it. I might not.’” He said. “When I came back, my friends from the racing office were running to the winner’s circle.” :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. After Shout It Out was led out of the winner’s circle, the track conducted a brief ceremony honoring Alvarado’s milestone. The celebration was not limited to Sunday afternoon. After riding at Golden Gate Fields on Monday, Alvarado, 54, flew to New York where he is spending time this week with his 24-year-old son Nick. Their get-together included plans to watch the New York Knicks play the Boston Celtics on Wednesday evening. Alvarado will be back in California on Friday and will resume riding at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday. Among his five mounts, Alvarado rides Kristin Lee in the $75,000 Pike Place Dancer Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, the first stakes of the meeting which began last Saturday and continues through Dec. 11. A native of Panama, Alvarado has been a fixture in Northern California since the late 1990s, particularly at Golden Gate Fields where he has won 2,082 races. This year, Alvarado has won 59 races through Wednesday. He had 36 wins at the marathon winter-spring meeting at Golden Gate Fields that ended in June, good enough for seventh in the standings. On the fair circuit, Alvarado had 16 wins, including nine at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton near his home. His lone win outside of Northern California this year was aboard Grand Slam Smile in the Fasig-Tipton Debutante at Santa Anita in June. Grand Slam Smile, based at Golden Gate Fields with trainer Steve Specht, is a candidate for the $175,000 Golden State Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita on Nov. 3 on the undercard on the first day of the Breeders’ Cup races. Alvarado is scheduled to ride Grand Slam Smile. Alvarado has ridden regularly in the United States since 1990. He had his best season in 2008, winning 245 races aboard mount that earned in excess of $4.4 million. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. Alvarado has won such races as the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby with Eternity Star in 1992, and the $1 million Sunshine Milllions Classic on McCann’s Mojave at Gulfstream Park in 2007. While he may not have as many mounts as he did 15 years ago, Alvarado has stuck with racing in Northern California. The schedule could change next year. Golden Gate Fields is scheduled to be shut after its winter-spring meeting ends in June. Alvarado said it’s too early to make plans, wanting to see what a replacement schedule will look like. “I don’t know what’s going on about 2024,” he said. “I go day-by-day.” As a senior member of the Northern California jockey roster, Alvarado credits a focused approach to his longevity. “Honestly, working out, eating healthy food,” he said. “Mentally, I’m focusing on trying to be my best. I’ve been doing that. I have a lot of discipline with myself.” Golden Gate schedule change Golden Gate Fields has altered its racing schedule for the first weekend of November, and will race from Friday, Nov. 3 through Sunday, Nov. 5 that week. At the current autumn meeting, which began on Oct. 21, the track is primarily racing on a Saturday-through-Monday basis. The track has that schedule this weekend, and will race that calendar on the weekend of Nov. 11-13. The season continues through Dec. 11. Racing is also scheduled on Thanksgiving, Nov. 23. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.