Hall of Fame jockey Prado nears win No. 7,000
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Surely it will have to wait until he returns to Maryland next month, but the countdown is on for Edgar Prado as the Hall of Fame jockey nears the 7,000-win milestone.
Prado won the first race here Wednesday aboard Straight Tequila for career victory No. 6,990. He has said his immediate goals are to become just the eighth jockey in North American racing history to win 7,000 races and to pass Angel Cordero Jr. (7,057) for seventh on the all-time list. Russell Baze is the all-time leader with 12,842.
On a related note, the victory by Straight Tequila made for a happy 60th birthday for trainer Tom Albertrani.
◗ Back-to-back allowances, both part of the Rainbow 6 sequence, anchor a 12-race Sunday card that brings the five-day race week to an end with a noon Eastern start. Female turf sprinters clash in race 10, a $57,000 second-level race, while older horses will go a mile for $56,000 at a first-level condition in race 11.
The jackpot for the Rainbow 6 (races 7-12) stood at nearly $4 million entering Friday.
After Sunday, the next live date for racing here is Thursday. The Fasig-Tipton sale of 2-year-olds in training will be held Wednesday in the Gulfstream walking ring.
◗ Enticed stayed sharp for the April 7 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, breezing a half-mile in 49.60 seconds Friday at the Palm Meadows training center. The winner of the Kentucky Jockey Club and Gotham stakes, Enticed is trained by Kiaran McLaughlin for Godolphin Racing.
