Trainer Jamie Ness earned the 4,000th win of his career when Sing Scat (Irish War Cry), a 3-year-old filly he co-owns, captured the first race at Laurel Park Sunday. The victory was the 27th in the month of July for Ness and extended his win streak to 17 calendar days between Laurel, Delaware Park and Parx that dates back to June 30. It was also the second career milestone Ness has reached at Laurel where he earned his 2,000th win with Caylee's Song on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, 2013.
“Luckily, we weren't [waiting] for very long. It came pretty fast,” Ness said. “It's kind of a longevity milestone, I guess you'd call it. We've been doing this a long time. I remember being right here for 2,000. Seems like it was yesterday.”
Ness is the 16th trainer to reach 4,000 wins in North America and ranks 13th among active trainers behind Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen's record 10,199 and counting. The 48-year-old Ness recorded win number 1,000 at Presque Isle Downs Sept. 23, 2010 and hit the 3,000-win milestone at Parx Feb. 18, 2020.
“The last thousand went pretty quick,” Ness said. “The first win was tough. I went like oh-for-30 or 40 and was like, 'This is hard.' I just wanted to win one race when I first started. I had bad horses and didn't do a good job with the ones I had, so it took a while before I won a race.”
Heading into Sunday Ness was the leading trainer at both Delaware Park and Parx and tied 16-16 with Brittany Russell in Laurel's summer meet standings after Starship Laoban gave Ness win number 4,001 in Sunday's third race.
“I'm fortunate. [This] is something I would do even if I didn't get paid,” Ness said. “It's my hobby, it's my passion and it's my job. Very few get to do that, so I feel blessed to be able in that position.”
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