Tony Black didn’t ride from September 2015 until this past July, but he never said he was retired. Last summer, he began accepting a few mounts, and last Saturday at Parx Racing, he won his first race in more than three years. Black, who rode his first winner in 1970 at Liberty Bell Racetrack in Philadelphia, is 66 and now has 5,209 wins, ranking 28th among jockeys in North American racing history. His win came aboard Bluegrass Express for trainer Richie Vega in a $25,000 starter allowance. Black settled his mount just off the pace, took the lead in midstretch, and then held on to win by three-quarters of a length. The Equibase chart says Bluegrass Express won under “strong handling.” Bluegrass Express was Black’s 10th mount of the year. “What was rewarding was after the race, when I came back to the jocks’ room, some of the other riders told me, ‘We know you don’t ride many, Tony, but you looked good out there. You looked like the Tony Black of old.’ ” :: Save on PPs, digital subscriptions, and more! Black loves being a jockey. He retired after winning his 5,200th race in March 2013 but couldn’t stay away and returned six months later. The next year, trainer Mike Aro gave Black the mount on the female sprinter Winning Image. They won stakes at Laurel Park, Pimlico, and Parx. In 2015, Black rode in five races. He returned to the saddle July 4. “It was a big thrill to win Saturday,” Black said. “I had trouble sleeping that night. I got like two hours’ sleep. I felt like a little kid winning for the first time.” Black wants to win one more race to get win No. 5,210 and then plans to retire for good. But even as he says that, he holds the door open to keep going a little longer. “I’ve got some promises out there that I will stop at 5,210, including to my 92-year-old mother,” he said. “She tells me she wants to live to see me retire. Then again, Mark Guidry and Jacinto Vasquez, two of my idols, are just a little ahead of me. Guidry has 5,222, and Vasquez has 5,228. The truth is 5,210 will probably be it.” In between comebacks, Black has remained a fixture at Parx, helping to protect the rights of his fellow riders and working on safety issues. “I enjoy being part of the brotherhood,” Black said. “Any time anyone asks me to help out, I always do. It’s something that’s hard to walk away from.”