Zito saddles 2,000th winner

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito sent out his 2,000th career winner here Monday, when Forever Plus captured the second race under jockey Nik Juarez.

“The way these young trainers are today – they win 4,000, 5,000 – I feel like the oldest guy in Little League,” said Zito. “On the other hand, it’s great, a long journey. Thank God I’m probably still at the top of the stretch and have a quarter-mile left.”

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Much of Zito’s success over the years has come at Gulfstream Park, including back-to-back wins in the Florida Derby with Ice Box (2010) and Dialed In (2011) and Stephen Got Even’s triumph in the 2000 Donn Handicap.

“The Florida Derbies are special, and the Donn, that’s not a bad race either,” said Zito. “I’ve had a lot of great memories here, and hopefully we’ll keep it going.”