NEW YORK — Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez rode his 6,000th career winner in North America, guiding Singapore Trader to victory Friday at Aqueduct.
He joins Hall of Famer Edgar Prado, Mario Pino and Perry Wayne Ouzts as the only active riders to reach the milestone and the 18th overall.
Velazquez says reaching the plateau on Friday was “just another number” and it won’t be until he looks back at his career that he’ll “know I accomplished something great.”
He reached the milestone on a horse trained by Todd Pletcher, who also gave Velazquez a leg up on his 5,000th winner in 2013.
The 47-year-old rider began his career in his native Puerto Rico before coming to the U.S. in 1990, when he rode 109 winners.
Velazquez won the Kentucky Derby in 2011 and 2017, the Belmont Stakes twice and has ridden 15 Breeders’ Cup champions.
Away from the track, he is chairman of The Jockeys’ Guild board of directors.