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Hall Of Fame Trainer Todd Pletcher Hits 6000 Career Wins In Spa Finale

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With 10 entries on Saturday’s Saratoga card, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher needed just one of them to cross the wire first to give him 6,000 wins on what has been nothing short of an illustrious career. The milestone came in the last race, a turf optional claimer going 1 3/8ths, when Versailles Road (Quality Road) rallied from off the pace to get his picture taken.

“It’s a hard business to reflect in much, but it’s weird how when you get to these milestones that you start thinking about the individual ones and the single ones–they add up,” Pletcher said after the win was in the record books.

According to Equibase, the Texan’s first winner was record at Gulfstream Park Jan. 26, 1996 in a maiden claimer. In a touch of irony, the horse’s name was Majestic Number (Polish Numbers).

Pletcher currently sits in seventh place on the all-time wins list. Steve Asmussen leads with 11,297, followed by Dale Baird (9,445). Jerry Hollendorfer (7,777), Jack Van Berg (6,523), King Leatherbury (6,508) and Scott Lake (6,489).

“I was reading something about Robby [Albarado]–maybe it was in on of his obituaries the other day, he was talking about how he was feeling when he got close to 5,000 and maybe got into a little bit of a slump and he started thinking about how important each win, in what might seem just a normal race, each win is so important to so many people,” he said. “I knew what he was talking about when I was reading that.”

Earlier on the card in the eighth race, Pletcher’s entry Bold Leadership (Not This Time) was nosed out at the end.

“Maybe it might not be our day [laughs],” the Hall of Famer said. “We felt like we had some live chances with a lot of babies and a very tough Whitney. I was hoping we could get one. It took all day to do it, but thankfully it happened.”

It was fitting that number 6,000 came at the Spa, a place that has become special for Pletcher. It was on the same turf course that champion English Channel (Smart Strike) broke his maiden in what was his debut for the trainer Aug. 6, 2004.

“I was hoping it would happen here,” Pletcher said. Like I jokingly said–in 2026–a couple of months ago. It’s always special to win here.

VERSAILLES ROAD gives @PletcherRacing his 6,000th training win in the finale at Saratoga with @jockeyfranco up! pic.twitter.com/jKAy7f97u0

— NYRA () (@TheNYRA) August 9, 2026

The post Hall Of Fame Trainer Todd Pletcher Hits 6000 Career Wins In Spa Finale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

2026 Whitney Day Handle Second-Highest In History

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Saturday’s 14-race Whitney Day program at Saratoga Race Course, highlighted by Sovereignty’s (Into Mischief) victory in the 99th running of the$1 million GI Whitney Stakes, generated $46,866,128 in wagering handle from all sources, NYRA announced Saturday evening.

This year’s Whitney Day handle figure is the second highest in history, behind the 2025 Whitney Day all-time record of $49,651,341.

Paid attendance on Saturday was 40,422 with on-track handle of $8,021,319.

The 2026 summer meet at Saratoga runs through Labor Day, Monday, September 7.

The post 2026 Whitney Day Handle Second-Highest In History appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Hall Of Fame Trainer Todd Pletcher Hits 6000 Career Wins In Spa Finale

---

With 10 entries on Saturday’s Saratoga card, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher needed just one of them to cross the wire first to give him 6,000 wins on what has been nothing short of an illustrious career. The milestone came in the last race, a turf optional claimer going 1 3/8ths, when Versailles Road (Quality Road) rallied from off the pace to get his picture taken.

“It’s a hard business to reflect in much, but it’s weird how when you get to these milestones that you start thinking about the individual ones and the single ones–they add up,” Pletcher said after the win was in the record books.

According to Equibase, the Texan’s first winner was record at Gulfstream Park Jan. 26, 1996 in a maiden claimer. In a touch of irony, the horse’s name was Majestic Number (Polish Numbers).

Pletcher currently sits in seventh place on the all-time wins list. Steve Asmussen leads with 11,297, followed by Dale Baird (9,445). Jerry Hollendorfer (7,777), Jack Van Berg (6,523), King Leatherbury (6,508) and Scott Lake (6,489).

“I was reading something about Robby [Albarado]–maybe it was in on of his obituaries the other day, he was talking about how he was feeling when he got close to 5,000 and maybe got into a little bit of a slump and he started thinking about how important each win, in what might seem just a normal race, each win is so important to so many people,” he said. “I knew what he was talking about when I was reading that.”

Earlier on the card in the eighth race, Pletcher’s entry Bold Leadership (Not This Time) was nosed out at the end.

“Maybe it might not be our day [laughs],” the Hall of Famer said. “We felt like we had some live chances with a lot of babies and a very tough Whitney. I was hoping we could get one. It took all day to do it, but thankfully it happened.”

It was fitting that number 6,000 came at the Spa, a place that has become special for Pletcher. It was on the same turf course that champion English Channel (Smart Strike) broke his maiden in what was his debut for the trainer Aug. 6, 2004.

“I was hoping it would happen here,” Pletcher said. Like I jokingly said–in 2026–a couple of months ago. It’s always special to win here.

VERSAILLES ROAD gives @PletcherRacing his 6,000th training win in the finale at Saratoga with @jockeyfranco up! pic.twitter.com/jKAy7f97u0

— NYRA () (@TheNYRA) August 9, 2026

The post Hall Of Fame Trainer Todd Pletcher Hits 6000 Career Wins In Spa Finale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

2026 Whitney Day Handle Second-Highest In History

---

Saturday’s 14-race Whitney Day program at Saratoga Race Course, highlighted by Sovereignty’s (Into Mischief) victory in the 99th running of the$1 million GI Whitney Stakes, generated $46,866,128 in wagering handle from all sources, NYRA announced Saturday evening.

This year’s Whitney Day handle figure is the second highest in history, behind the 2025 Whitney Day all-time record of $49,651,341.

Paid attendance on Saturday was 40,422 with on-track handle of $8,021,319.

The 2026 summer meet at Saratoga runs through Labor Day, Monday, September 7.

The post 2026 Whitney Day Handle Second-Highest In History appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.