Pletcher Sets Earnings Record

Magna Graduate, a 4-1 shot, capped a record-setting day for trainer Todd Pletcher with a nose victory Friday over Suave in the $500,000 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs.

It was the third consecutive win for the 3-year-old Honor Grades colt, who was second in his first two starts after being transferred to Pletcher.

Magna Graduate won the Grade II race hours after Pletcher’s Spin Factor, the favorite in Aqueduct’s second race, had won, and gave Pletcher the record for purse earnings in a year by a trainer. The win by Magna Graduate boosted Pletcher’s earnings to $19,150,856, surpassing the $19,147,129 set by Bobby Frankel in 2003.

“It’s been a great year,” Pletcher said. “Everything has clicked.”

Owned by Elisabeth Alexander and ridden by John Velazquez, Magna Graduate won for the sixth time in 15 starts while completing the 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.89. Perfect Drift finished third, just as he had in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 29 at Belmont Park.

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Gary Stevens made his retirement official earlier in the day at a Churchill Downs news conference. The Hall of Fame jockey, 42, said he would begin work at Television Games Network as a race analyst in January.

Stevens, who retired in 1999 but returned to the saddle 10 months later, will ride two horses today -- Sabatini in the $200,000 Golden Rod and Louve Royale in the final race of Churchill’s fall meet.

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Stellar Jayne, the 3-5 favorite, ended her career with a victory, beating pacesetter Bohemian Lady by half a length to win the $150,000 Top Flight Handicap at Aqueduct.

The 4-year-old Wild Rush filly, owned by Godolphin Stable and trained by Saeed bin Suroor, ran the mile in the Grade II in 1:35.94 under jockey Jerry Bailey. Stellar Jayne finished her career with nine victories in 22 starts and earnings of $1,234,964.