Sunday, August 26, 2007
Ouzts gets 5000th Win
 PERRY OUZTS CAPTURES VICTORY NUMBER 5,000 AT RIVER DOWNS
It is a long road from Lepanto, Arknsas to the winner's circle at River Downs in Cincinnati, Ohio. Along that road for jockey Perry Ouzts have come broken bones, near career-ending spills, 18 riding titles, a wife he calls "my biggest fan," two sons and 5,000 victories after the first race on Tuesday.
In his patented riding style that has nicknamed him "Scoot N' Boot", Ouzts hustled Kandinsky out of the gate and went wire-to-wire on the front end to victory. He returned to an overflow crowd for family, friends, jockeys and racing officials and received a rousing round of applause. His mount,Kandinsky was a bit fractious from all the commotion, but he finally straightened out for a packed winner's circle photo.After weighing out, the 53-year-old rider returned to accept a large trophy commemorating his accomplishment and then he posed for the traditional jockey colony photo. In winning his 5,000 race, Ouzts joins an exclusive club in thoroughbred racing. Only 21 riders in the history of the sport have ever achieved that mark. "I want to thank all of the trainers and owners who helped put me in this situation," stated an emotional Ouzts after the race. "Most of all I want to thank my wife Toni for all of the support she has given me through the years. She's a big part of this." His personal record after the first race on Tuesday stood at 39,429 mounts, 5,000 wins; 4,911 seconds and 4,801 third-place finishes with his mounts earning over $29 million. Known as the local "Workingman's Hero," he wasted little time sitting on his laurels, instead he sat on the next two winners on the card.
Congratulations from the Jockeys' Guild |
