Cornelio Velasquez, long one
of the leading riders on The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit,
reached a personal milestone Sunday afternoon at Aqueduct Racetrack when he won
race 5 aboard Up in Smoke ($7.30)
for his 3,000th North
American victory.
“I
feel good,” said Velasquez, who also won more than 1,000 races in his native
Panama before moving his tack
to the United
States. “I’m very happy to have had a big
career and that the trainers have given me a lot of chances. It’s like family
here at Aqueduct; there’s a lot of competition, but I like New York. It’s the best.”
Following the landmark win, Velasquez, 43, was tied for seventh in the
jockey standings at Aqueduct’s fall meet with eight winners. Overall, he was
third in New York with 169 winners in 2011,
including the Grade 2 Go for Wand with Lovely Lil on Friday at Aqueduct
Racetrack, the Grade 3 Westchester at Belmont on
Caixa Eletronica, and the Grade 1 Sword Dancer Invitational with Winchester and the Grade 3
Victory Ride aboard Hot Summer, both at Saratoga Race Course.
Earlier this month, Velasquez won the Grade 2 Breeders’ Cup Marathon on
November 5 with Afleet Again.
Velasquez, who rode his first winner in Panama in 1985,
has finished among the top 10 jockeys on the NYRA circuit every year since 2004.
In 2007, he won the coveted Saratoga riding title with 44
winners.
In
2010, Velasquez finished fifth in the year-end standings with 110 winners from
757 mounts at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont, and
Saratoga.
Photo: NYRA - Adam Coglianese