Day Rides 8 Winners at Arlington

Pat Day rode eight winners in nine mounts Wednesday at Arlington International Racecourse, the best percentage day for a rider at a North American track.

Three riders have had eight winners on a single program--David Gall, R.D. Williams and Chris Loseth--but they had 10 mounts.

Gall did it at Cahokia Downs in southern Illinois on Oct. 18, 1978; Williams at Lincoln (Neb.) on Sept. 29, 1984; and Loseth on April 9, 1984, at Exhibition Park, Vancouver, Canada.

Chris Antley had nine winners in 14 mounts on Oct. 31, 1987, riding in the day program at Aqueduct in New York, and the night card at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

“I’m still in a little bit of a shock. The reality of what I’ve done hasn’t quite sunk in,” Day said. “I couldn’t have done it without the owners, the trainers and my agent, Fred Aime. Something like this you can’t put into words.”

One of his winners came in the $37,350 Arch Ward Stakes for 2-year-olds. He steered Karen’s Tom to a 2 3/4-length victory over favorite Secret Hello on the sloppy track. Unbridled finished third.

Day’s only loser on the nine-race card came in the third race when he finished second with Wayne’s By George, a 4-1 shot. Speed Tells, the favorite ridden by James Bruin, won by 1 1/4 lengths.

Day, a 35-year-old native of Brush, Colo., who now lives in Hoffman Estates, near the track, broke an Arlington record held by Earlie Fires.

Fires had seven winners in eight mounts Aug. 16, 1983, and May 25, 1987. He was six for six at Hawthorne last June 19.

Day said he didn’t have time to think about setting a record.

“They were running the races pretty fast. I was aware of the number of races I was winning,” he said. “It was sort of a fantasy thing that became a reality.”

Only two of Day’s mounts were favored in the betting: Wonder’s Delight at $4.20 in the fifth race, and Plane Threatening at $4.80 in the ninth.

Day’s other winners were: Shady Family in the first race, $20.40; Full Series, second race, $23.60; Rising Moment, fourth race, $8; Kel Irish, sixth race, $8.80, and Monocle Miss, seventh race, $7.

Shady Family and Full Series combined for a daily double payoff of $163.40. Day also had the Pick 3, comprising the fourth, fifth and sixth races, which returned $42.20.