On Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 28), Jim Taggart Jr. notched a career milestone as he won his 5,000th race when steering GD Striker in the 8th race at Monticello Raceway.
GD Striker wired the field with a five-length victory 2:01.2 over New York Attitude and London Hanover. GD Striker, paying $3.40 to win, picked up his first win of the 2020 season. The four-year-old gelding by Guccio is owned by Jason Darling.
Taggart, now 49-years-old, has been a fixture of the "Mighty M" for decades. The PA native has enjoyed much success with trainer Gary Messenger, who conditions the horse that pushed Taggart into the 5,000 wins plateau.
During his career his mounts have earned $24,710,856 in purses. Taggart was the leading dash winning driver at Monticello Raceway for 2019. Currently he sits in thired place with 17 wins behind Greg Merton (18) and Bruce Aldrich Jr. (19).
(with files from Monticello Raceway)