Doug O'Neill © Zoe Metz Photography
Trainer Doug O’Neill recorded the 2,000th victory of his career when Formally Wild won the second race Sunday at Del Mar under Tyler Baze.
It was the 12th win of the Bing Crosby Season, in its 16th of 20 days, for O’Neill, the meet’s leading trainer.
“It’s the result of having a good team with me,” O’Neill said. “(Assistant) Leandro Mora does a fantastic job, and if I started thanking everybody who has contributed we’d be here all day.
“To have it happen here at Del Mar is really special,” said O’Neill, a four-time training champion at the track and winner of 32 stakes starting in 2002. O’Neill set a Del Mar record with five wins in a single day last summer and won four straight races a week ago today.
O’Neill took out his training license in 1994 and notched his first win that year in Northern California. His 1,000th North American race victory came when No Means Maybe captured the Bustles and Bows at Fairplex Park Sept. 13, 2007.
“Tyler Baze also rode my 1,000th winner, so that adds to this,” O’Neill said, before lapsing into a little self-deprecation.
“It means I’ve probably saddled 20,000 horses and should have won 3,000 by now,” he said with a laugh. “But it’s a great day.”