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Rice chalks up 1000th win and ties for Belmont training title

Linda Rice's milestone win propelled her into a tie with Todd Pletcher (NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography) Linda Rice, who made history at Saratoga in 2009 when she became the first woman to win a New York Racing Association (NYRA) training title, reached a personal milestone in Sunday's 9TH race at Belmont Park when she saddled her 1000th winner as a trainer. With the triumph, Rice finished the Belmont spring/summer meet tied with Todd Pletcher atop the trainer standings with 25 wins. It's the third meet title for Rice, who tied with David Jacobson this spring at Aqueduct Racetrack. The victory appropriately came with Sextant (Orientate), a six-year-old mare owned by her father, Clyde Rice, a former trainer. "It feels great," Rice said. "I won my first race for my father when I was 23. Now my 1000th win just happens to be for my father. It's really cool. And I tied for the training title at the same time. The mare had been training really well, so I thought she'd run well, but there's never a guarantee. My staff has worked really hard, and I'm excited about going to Saratoga."

Rice was born in Wisconsin and grew up in Pennsylvania. She studied computer science for two years at Penn State University but kept her hand in racing, working for her father whenever she could. She took out her trainer's license in 1987 and was initially based in New Jersey, where she saddled her first winner, Contraboss, at Garden State Park. In 1991, she moved her operation to New York and that year won her first of more than 100 stakes, the Bernard Baruch H. (G2), with Double Booked.

Rice joins an elite group of female trainers to have reached the 1,000 win milestone, including Stephanie Beattie, Christine Janks, Barbara McBride and Kathleen O'Connell.

"We want to congratulate Linda on this terrific achievement," NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward said. "She has been one of the most prominent trainers on the NYRA circuit over the last decade, including her remarkable Saratoga training title in 2009. We look forward to seeing her in the New York winner's circle for many years to come."

It should also be noted that training under the name of Linda Rice-Appleby, she compiled a record of 21 wins, 12 seconds, 15 thirds, and earnings of $433,967 from 102 starts during 1988-89. All together, she currently has 1,021 wins, according to statistics provided by Equibase Company.

Although many of Rice's accomplishments have come on the NYRA circuit, in 1998, the trainer saddled Tenski to win the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) at Keeneland. That year, Rice also sent out Things Change to win the Adirondack S. (G2) and Spinaway S. (G1) at Saratoga Race Course; in 2000, she sent City Zip out to sweep all three of the Spa's graded stakes for open two-year-olds: the Sanford (G2), the Saratoga Special (G2) and the prestigious Hopeful (G1).

More than half of her 1,000 wins have come on the NYRA circuit, with 236 wins at Aqueduct Racetrack, 198 wins at Belmont Park and 120 wins at Saratoga.

One of her amazing accomplishments came on August 18, 2008, at Saratoga when she trained the first four finishers of the Mechanicville S: Ahvee's Destiny (Rizzi), Canadian Ballet, Silver Timber (Prime Timber) and Karakorum Elektra (Freud). It was thereafter coined the "Rice Superfecta."

Pletcher, who entered the weekend with a two-race advantage over Rice, has now won or shared 25 meet titles. The five-time Eclipse Award winner for outstanding trainer also ranks as the reigning leading horseman at Saratoga.

The jockey title chase also came down to the wire on closing day, with Ramon Dominguez holding off a furious charge by Javier Castellano to take the riding crown.

Dominguez, the 2010 Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Jockey, led by six following Friday's card, but Castellano was able to reduce the deficit to one by winning four races on Saturday and maintaining a 2-1 edge through the first nine races on Sunday.

Castellano, attempting to pick up a share of the title in Sunday's 10th and final race, led in deep stretch aboard Ms Diller (Sharp Humor) before Dominguez rallied in the center of the track aboard Aprilmayjune (Offlee Wild) to clinch the crown.

Overall, Dominguez won 71 races during the meet, with Castellano posting 69 triumphs. Cornelio Velasquez was third with 50 wins.

It was the 14th NYRA meet title for Dominguez, who has topped the jockey standings at 13 of the 15 most recent meets at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course. Castellano will attempt to gain revenge when racing resumes on Friday at Saratoga, where he finished second in the standings last year.

The leading owner was Flying Zee Stables, whose principle, Carl Lizza, passed away July 8. Flying Zee Stables clinched the owner title on Saturday with victories in the 5TH race with Take a Walk (Western Expression) and Peace Now (Whywhywhy) in the 7TH race and added a final victory with Money Magnet (Talk is Money) in Sunday's 5TH race to finish the meet with 16 wins.

The 143rd meet at historic Saratoga gets underway Friday and will feature 40 days of top-class racing through Labor Day, September 5. First post is 1 p.m. (EDT) daily, with special post times of 2:30 on July 29 and September 2. On Travers Day, August 27, first post is 11:35 a.m.

Visit www.NYRA.com for more information.

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