ThistleDown jockey Luis Gonzalez wins 3,000th race

Luis Antonio Gonzalez gave a rail-skimming ride to off-the-pace runner Tough as Steel to earn his 3,000th career victory as a jockey in Saturday's second race at ThistleDown.

Gonzalez was greeted in the winner's circle by his fellow riders, who posed for a group photo and offered their congratulations.

A native Panama, where he began riding at age 17, Gonzalez came to the United States in 1984. He is a seven-time riding champion at ThistleDown and came into Saturday atop the current jockey standings at the meet with 29 wins.

Gonzalez was able to coax a half-length win out of Tough as Steel ($12.60), a 6-year-old gelding who had lost 26 straight races since his last victory in November 2012. Gonzalez gave Tough as Steel a patient ride, sitting in seventh through the first six furlongs of the mile-and-70-yard race for $5,000 claimers. Tough as Steel hugged the rail and closed willingly, making up a 1 1/2-length deficit in the final furlong to defeat 2-1 favorite Curly Bill.