Now that Earlie Fires has become the 11th rider in North America to win 5,000 races, Arlington International Racecourse has begun the Pat Day countdown.
Day`s victory on Early Favorite in Monday`s fifth race was No. 4,911 of his career.
Can he get No. 5,000 before the Arlington meeting ends Oct. 8?
”It would be pretty ambitious, but I wouldn`t rule it out completely,”
said Day`s agent, Fred Aime. ”We`d have to stay hot like we are now, and finish the meeting averaging more than two winners a day. That`s tough to do.”
Day won four races Thursday, had another four-bagger Friday and went to the winner`s circle three times Sunday, the day Fires hit the 5,000 mark.
In the jockey standings, Day leads with 124 victories, giving him an edge of six over Jorge Velasquez, the defending champion. Fires is third with 97 triumphs.
Historical footnotes: Career winner No. 5,000 for Fires came on the 59th birthday of Bill Shoemaker, who retired this year with an all-time high of 8,833 victories.
Big things ahead? Jet Envoy, Tentacular and Al Bing finished 1-2-3 in Sunday`s Waukegan Breeders` Cup Stakes, the first stakes race for 2-year-olds in Chicago this year. The respective win, place and show horses last summer were Secret Hello, Karen`s Tom and Unbridled.
Unbridled, of course, went on to bigger and better things-a victory in the Kentucky Derby.
Across the Atlantic: Highlighting Tuesday`s program at York in England will be the Group I Juddmonte International Stakes, and one of the contestants is Batshoof, who is on the eligible list for Arlington Million X on Sept. 2.
According to the International Racing Bureau, two other horses in the 1 5/16-mile Juddmonte International-Relief Pitcher and Dolpour-may be supplemented to the Million for $50,000.
Invited starters and alternates for the Million will be named Thursday.
