The Woodbine Entertainment Group would like to congratulate driver Sylvain Filion, of Milton, Ont., for having achieved 6,000 career wins

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Filion, 40, reached the magic number tonight in Race 9, threading Mr Saratoga, a five-year-old son of Million Dollar Cam, between horses to win a $40,000 Preferred event for mature pacers over Proven Lover (Jason Brewer) and Anderlecht (Chris Christoforou) in a smart 1:50.4.

Filion, whose career includes over 31,000 starts, hails from Lachute, Que., and is a member of one of the sport’s most prominent families. His father Yves Filion captured the North America Cup in 1998, at Greenwood Raceway, with Runnymede Lobell, and his uncle Herve is one of harness racing’s winningest drivers.

Sylvain made the move to the Toronto area 11 months ago after concentrating his efforts for many years at harness racing’s Montreal and Ottawa-area tracks. He is on track for his fifth consecutive season with purse earnings in excess of $3 million

“It was a long couple of weeks, but I finally delivered it,” said Filion after posing for winner’s circle photographs. “I wasn’t really expecting it to be Mr Saratoga who’d do it – he hasn’t raced for a couple weeks. I thought maybe in the second race (with Compass Connection, who finished second to Elm Grove Operativ) I had a good shot. We came close, but it wasn’t quite enough.

“It’s nice at least I’ve reached (the 6,000 mark). I hope there are some more wins for me in the future.”

Please join WEG and the connections of Mr Saratoga in congratulating Sylvain Filion on this career milestone.

To view Saturday's results, click here.

(WEG, photo courtesy of New Image Media)