Jockey Becomes Seventh to Have 6,000 Winners

Jockey Carl Gambardella, 52, won the first race at Rockingham Park Saturday on Nip Of Gin, becoming the seventh rider to win 6,000 races.

Gambardella joined Bill Shoemaker, Laffit Pincay, Angel Cordero, Jorge Velasquez, Larry Snyder and Johnny Longden in reaching the 6,000-victory mark.

“I’m not really in their class,” Gambardella said.

“I feel good for all the blue-collar jockeys across the country to show that it can be done.”

Gambardella won his first race at Hagerstown, Md., in 1956. Since then, Gambardella has had nearly 37,000 mounts that have returned nearly $27 million.