Trainer Dale Capuano wins 3,000th race
February 23, 2012LAUREL, Md. (AP) - Trainer Dale Capuano won his 3,000th career race on Thursday at Laurel Park in Maryland.
He saddled Father Mudd to victory in the ninth race, making Capuano the 27th trainer in North America to reach 3,000. Todd Pletcher joined the club 12 days ago.
Capuano won his first race in February 1981 at Bowie Race Course. The 49-year-old trainer has spent his career in Maryland, where he was the state's leading trainer eight times, most recently in 2004. Capuano has won 31 training titles at Pimlico and Laurel.
He saddled Wind Splitter to an 11th-place finish in the 1989 Kentucky Derby. Capuano's best year was 2001 when he was the nation's fourth-leading trainer with 235 wins.