Rice drawing close to NYRA training record

With her two wins on Sunday’s card, Linda Rice has won 152 races on the New York Racing Association circuit in 2023. The single-year record for wins at NYRA is 164 set by David Jacobson in 2013.

There are 16 scheduled racing days remaining in 2023 at Aqueduct.

Aside from Jacobson, the only trainers to have won more races than Rice in a calendar year at NYRA are Gary Contessa (159 in 2007), Chad Brown (159 in 2022), Frank Martin (156 in 1974), and Brown (154 in 2018).

Rice has only one horse entered on Thursday’s card – Paddington, in a first-level allowance – but she has seven horses entered in five races on Friday’s card.

Also, Rice is getting closer to becoming the winningest female trainer in history. According to Equibase, Rice has 2,395 career wins. She is third behind Kathleen O’Connell (2,425) and Kim Hammond (2,405), both of whom are still active.

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