NEWS
Baird scores career victory 2,000
Posted: Friday, July 17, 2009 5:04 PM
E. T. BAIRD
NTRA photo
Chicago-based jockey E. T. Baird picked up the 2,000th victory of his career on Friday when he guided John Karakourtis’s Bond Street for trainer Hugh Robertson to a 2½-length victory in the second race at Arlington Park.
Baird, 42, celebrated in the winner’s circle with family, friends, and his fellow riders as a video was shown honoring the milestone victory and other highlights of his career.
“Great milestone,” Baird said. “This is a great place to do it. I grew up here and I wouldn’t want to have gotten it anywhere else.”
The Illinois native was the 1996 riding champion at Hawthorne Race Course while still an apprentice and has been a mainstay on the Chicago circuit for nearly his entire career. He entered Friday’s card as the meet’s leading jockey with an eight-win advantage over his closest rival.
