Hollendorfer's 7000th win comes on Thanksgiving

Edited press release

 

Kiss N Scat romped home by 13 lengths in the Thanksgiving opener at Golden Gate Fields, giving her Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer his 7,000th victory.

 

With the win, Hollendorfer becomes just the third trainer to reach that milestone. Only Dale Baird (9,445 wins, deceased) and Steve Asmussen (7,164 wins, still active) have won more races. 

 

Kiss N Scat, the 1-10 favorite in the field of five 2-year-old fillies, was saddled by Hollendorfer’s wife and Northern California assistant, Janet Hollendorfer.

 

“I’m very grateful to be able to do something like this,” Hollendorfer said by telephone from Del Mar. “I’ve had a lot of good people help me. I want to thank the horses, the owners and the help I’ve had. All of my staff, including Janet, have done such a good job. They’re the people who do most of the work.” 

 

Kiss N Scat entered the one-mile optional claimer off a second to her stablemate Stays in Vegas in the $75,000 Pike Place Dancer on Nov. 1 at Golden Gate. 

 

Of Hollendorfer’s 7,000 wins, 2,944 have come at Golden Gate, according to Equibase statistics. 

 

A 2011 Hall of Fame inductee, Hollendorfer has won 49 meet titles at Golden Gate Fields and also captured 37 straight titles at Bay Meadows. 

 

Hollendorfer’s Northern California stakes wins include eight victories in the California Derby, six in the El Camino Real Derby, three in the Golden Gate Handicap and San Francisco Mile, and one in the Bay Meadows Handicap. 

 

Hollendorfer, 69, has won the Kentucky Oaks three times (1991: Lite Light; 1996: Pike Place Dancer; 2010: Blind Luck), the Santa Anita Handicap twice (2008: Heatseeker; 2015: Shared Belief), and the Hollywood/CashCall Futurity twice (1988: King Glorious; 2013: Shared Belief). He also owns wins in the 1989 Haskell Invitational (King Glorious), 2010 Alabama (Blind Luck), 2010 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (Dakota Phone), 2012 Metropolitan Handicap (Sahara Sky), 2014 Pacific Classic (Shared Belief), and many other major races.

 

Hollendorfer trains Songbird, who is expected to be named the 2015 champion two-year-old filly after easily winning three Grade 1 stakes, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. He already has campaigned Blind Luck (2010 champion three-year-old filly) and Shared Belief (2013 champion two-year-old male) to Eclipse honors.

 

Photo courtesy Breeders' Cup.