Just a month after capturing his fifth consecutive O’Brien Award, trainer Richard Moreau reached an impressive career milestone on Friday night (March 9).
Moreau, 53, entered Friday’s card at Woodbine Racetrack just $10,120 shy of $50 million in career earnings with five students set to compete.
Nine-year-old pacing mare Barockey started the night off in style for Team Moreau with a victory in the $18,000 third race to put the veteran horseman within $1,120 of the milestone.
After the next two Moreau trainees missed earning a cheque, seven-year-old pacing mare Bad Night Mare earned $1,440 with a fourth-place finish in the $18,000 ninth race to push her conditioner over the career milestone.
Five-year-old pacing mare Every Time was the final Moreau trainee to compete Friday and she earned $800 with a fourth-place finish.
Moreau’s stable has earned over $2 million in eight consecutive seasons and has topped $1 million in every year since 2000. The Puslinch, Ont. resident has also led all Woodbine circuit trainers in wins in each of the last three seasons.
The five-time O’Brien Award winner has topped 200 wins in seven of the last eight seasons. Moreau’s career-best year for wins was in 2012 when his trainees posted 344 victories. In 2016, his stable amassed more than $4 million for a career-high on the earnings side.
The Moreau stable has been as consistent as any operation in the sport and to no surprise the trend has continued in 2018. The nation's leading trainer has seen his students accumulate more than $800,000 in earnings in just over two months of racing.
(With files from Woodbine)