ARCADIA, Calif. — Jockey John Velazquez has set a record with his 660th career graded stakes victory in the U.S. and Canada.
He won the $300,000 Chandelier Stakes aboard Bast at Santa Anita on Friday, snapping a tie with fellow Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey.
It’s the second career mark owned by Bailey that Velazquez has taken down. The Puerto Rico native became the all-time leading rider at Saratoga in 2013 with win No. 694 to break Bailey’s mark.
The New York-based Velazquez was making a rare appearance in Southern California to ride for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.
Baffert gave him a leg up on Bast, who rallied to win the Grade 1 race by a neck and earn an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies race this fall at Santa Anita.
The Chandelier began with 2-year-old filly Leucothea dumping jockey Norberto Arroyo Jr. after leaving the starting gate. The filly ran along the outside rail and grazed two photographers who were shooting the race and didn’t see her charging. Neither was seriously injured.