Leon Bailey reached a career milestone on Wednesday, April 2 at Saratoga Casino Hotel as the three-time Vernon Downs leading driver recorded his 1,000th lifetime win.
Bailey sat behind the Kyle Spagnola-trained Better Crunch in a$11,429 conditioned race for fillies and mares. Coming into the race off her maiden-breaking score last week, the four-year-old mare went coast-to-coast in 1:58.1 to record her second consecutive win and give Bailey his 1,000th career victory.
Owned by Mark Rowland and Spagnola Racing LLC, Better Crunch paid $12.40 in the mild upset.
Bailey was presented with a sign commemorating his career milestone while in the winner’s circle following the Wednesday score. He wasted little time acquiring win number 1,001 as he guided the Dale Lawton-trained Excursion to victory in the afternoon's finale.
Live harness racing resumes on Sunday, April 6 at Saratoga with a 12 p.m. start.
(Saratoga Casino Hotel)