CYPRESS, Calif. - It’s possible that jockey Kazushi Kimura will win the 1,000th race of his career in North America between Friday and Sunday, during the final three days of the Los Alamitos September meeting. If not, the milestone will arrive at the Santa Anita autumn meeting, which begins on Sept. 26. Through Sunday, Kimura had ridden 997 winners in North America, including three races at Los Alamitos on Sept. 12 - the opening day of the track’s two-week meeting. When North American winner No. 1,000 does occur, it will be an achievement  Kimura forecast would happen this year when he set goals for 2025. He began the year with 937 wins. A 1,000th win is the first round number of what Kimura hopes will be many more achievements in coming decades. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “I thought I could get to this milestone,” he said between races on Sunday. “For my career, my vision is going to be over 20 to 30 years.” In addition to his North American record, Kimura had one winner in Venezuela last December. Kimura, who turned 26 on Sept. 6, began riding in 2018 at Woodbine, near Toronto, after arriving from his native Japan. Success arrived fast. Kimura won the Sovereign Award as Canada’s outstanding apprentice of 2018. A year later, he was honored with the Eclipse Award as North America’s leading apprentice jockey. Kimura won Sovereign Awards as Canada’s leading overall rider from 2021 to 2023. Kimura had 46 wins at Woodbine in 2024, but rode the summer meeting at Del Mar that year. After riding the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting for a third consecutive season earlier this year, Kimura opted to remain in California when he returned from a two-month absence in mid-March from a leg injury sustained in the starting gate. Through Sunday, Kimura had 60 wins this year, the lowest since he finished the pandemic-affected 2020 season with 86 wins. Kimura won a career-best 175 races in both 2022 and 2023 at the height of his dominance at Woodbine. Kimura led all riders at the three-week Los Alamitos summer meeting this year with 10 wins, his first title in Southern California. He finished the Del Mar summer meeting with 23 wins, tied for fourth in the standings behind leader Juan Hernandez, who had 45 victories. Kimura says his goal for the upcoming Santa Anita meeting is to wrestle the title from Hernandez. “My main thing is to be leading jockey,” he said. “Winter meet or autumn meet, I’m trying to beat J.J. “I’m confident to say I’m getting to be a better jockey. Every year has been great. “It’s always a privilege to have the opportunity to ride so many horses and especially keep winning. It’s a great feeling." Kimura did not have a stakes winner at Del Mar during the summer, but was aboard Ultimate Gamble for a third in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic on Aug. 30. Kimura’s leading stakes mount this year has been Kopion, who won the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff at Churchill Downs on May 2. Since then, Kopion has been second in her last two starts – the Grade 2 Great Lady M. Stakes at Los Alamitos in July, and the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar last month. Trainer Richard Mandella said earlier this month that Kopion may start in the Grade 3 Chillingworth Stakes for filly and mare sprinters at Santa Anita on Oct. 4 as a prep race for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 1. Kimura has yet to win a Breeders’ Cup race, another objective at Del Mar on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Kimura rode Breeders’ Cup races for the first time at Del Mar last November, going winless with two mounts. For this year’s Breeders’ Cup, the prep races at Santa Anita on the weekends of Sept. 27-28 and Oct. 4-5 could provide a foundation for mounts in the championship races at Del Mar. “I hope it will happen this year,” he said. “I hope I get more opportunities in the big races to have opportunities in the Breeders’ Cup.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.