Carter sets Quarter Horse riding record

G.R. Carter set a new all-time record for Quarter Horse wins by a jockey on Friday, when he picked up No. 3,632 in the fifth race at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico. It was the second win on the card for the rider, who in the third race tied the mark of 3,631 that had been set by the now-retired Alvin Brossette.

Carter, 46, already ranks as Quarter Horse racing’s all-time leader in mount earnings, with more than $64 million.

“The money record is related to the growth of Quarter Horse racing with inflated purses. That was easier,” Carter said in a release from Ruidoso. “There is only one way to win a race and that is one at a time. This record was set over the long haul, by being as good as I can be every day.”

Carter’s record-setting win came aboard Tempting Destiny ($9) in a trial for the Grade 1, $700,000 Ruidoso Downs Futurity. Michael Joiner trains the horse for the Double Eagle Ranch operation of Mark Allen, co-owner of Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird.

Carter is a native of Pawhuska, Okla., and he has been voted AQHA champion jockey 10 times dating back to 1993, according to the organization’s Richard Chamberlain. Carter’s most elite wins include the All American Futurity twice, with Falling In Loveagain in 1998 and Stolis Winner in 2008. He’s also won the All American Derby, with Dashing Perfection in 1997, and two runnings of the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity, in 2002 with First Place Queen, and in 2005 with Value The Man.

Closer to his Oklahoma City home, Carter is a 16-time title winner at Remington Park, where he has won five runnings of the prestigious Heritage Place Futurity.