Jockey Marquez gets win No. 3,000
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Jockey Carlos Marquez Jr. won the 3,000th race of his career when he guided Savemethelastdance to victory in the seventh race Saturday at Arlington.
Not everyone is recognizing the milestone. Equibase, the official recorder of such markers, is not counting the eight wins Marquez has at sanctioned racetracks in his native Puerto Rico, and without those victories, Marquez stands at 2,992 career wins. Arlington, however, is taking the more sensible approach and honored Marquez with a brief ceremony after Savemethelastdance got his picture taken.
Marquez’s 3,000th winner came about 24 hours after jockey Julio Felix notched his 3,000th win here Friday.
Marquez, whose father also was a jockey, was a hot apprentice in 1985, his first year riding in the mainland United States, winning 114 races and doing especially well on the New Jersey circuit. Marquez, 50, had a solid 2016, winning 110 races, but that total dropped to 68 last year, and Marquez said there's a good chance he won't be riding much longer.
"I took six months off in 2014," Marquez said after Arlington's card last Saturday. "I was ready to stop, but my dad said, 'You can’t stop until you get 3,000.' I did it for him."
