Trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr. earned his 2,000th career victory in North America as Long Pour (Tom's d'Etat) dominated a salty nine-horse field in Race 7, a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer for New York-breds, at Belmont Park on Sunday.Dutrow, Jr. entered Belmont Park's nine-race card with 1,998 wins, posting a 2-for-2 day with Tapwrits Temper in Race 4 and Long Pour in Race 7 to reach the 2,000 mark.Long Pour is owned by Michael Dubb, Sullivan Lane Stable [Kenny Page], Daniel Slattery, Steven Speranza and Crown Stable.Blake Dutrow, nephew and assistant to Rick, was at Belmont Park to saddle the 2,000th winner.“Sundays are days he likes to watch from either the couch or Don Peppe…I'm not sure where he is, but wherever he is I'm sure he's happy,” said Blake Dutrow. “We're fortunate the horse ran as well as he did today.“It's very special. [Thank you] to all the horses along the way that have made it possible and the owners,” he added. “The guy who owns this horse, Kenny Page, is a childhood friend of Rick's that worked for my granddad; Michael Dubb is involved, it takes those kind of people to get to that number. We're fortunate to have those kind of people behind us and the horses that we've had in our barn. It makes it a lot easier to get there when you have that.”Dutrow, Jr., 67, is the son of the late Richard Dutrow, Sr., who won 3,665 races in his career and campaigned Grade I winners including King's Swan, Lite the Fuse and Fara's Team. Dutrow, Jr., began working for his father at 16 and for many years sent out a limited number of starters in his own name, winning his first race with Automatic on Mar. 13, 1986 at Aqueduct Racetrack. He began his own career in earnest in 1995, becoming a major figure on The New York Racing Association, Inc. circuit and at other tracks on the East Coast.Highlights for Dutrow, Jr., include victories in the 2008 GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness with Big Brown, 2005 GI Breeders' Cup Classic with Saint Liam and GI Breeders' Cup Sprint with Silver Train [held at Belmont Park], and the 2007 GI Breeders' Cup Mile with Kip Deville. The conditioner has banked over $104 million in purses.In 2012, Dutrow, Jr., sent out Willy Beamin to win the GI King's Bishop [now the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial] at seven furlongs three days after the colt dominated the 1 1/8-mile Albany for New York-breds. Dutrow, Jr., returned from a 10-year suspension in 2023 and went on to win that year's GI Whitney and GI Breeders' Cup Classic with White Abarrio.“I think what stands out the most is [Dutrow, Jr.'s] relationship with the horses,” said Michael Dubb, who owns MSW Sculcos Folly. “Every horse to Rick is the same as a dog is to an owner. He gets to know them. He knows their personality, he knows their quirks. He gets close to the horses. He gets very attached to them and cares for them deeply. How does that translate into training? When you know their nuances and know what makes them happy and know horses well enough to see their disposition, you can translate that into how you train the horse and how you race the horse. If you looked up 'hands-on horseman' in the encyclopedia, his picture would come up.”Dubb added that his favorite memory with Dutrow, Jr. was haltering Sis City for $50,000 in August 2004 at Saratoga Race Course and eventually seeing the Slew City bay win the Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland.“Sis City, who we won a Grade 1 with,” said Dubb. “We claimed her for $50,000 and ran in the Breeders' Cup. That's probably my favorite memory.”Dutrow, Jr. is assisted by his brother Sydney “Chip” Dutrow and his aforementioned nephew Blake. His brother, trainer Tony Dutrow, has won Grade I races with Grace Hall, Seattle Smooth, Burning Roma, The Big Beast, Mo Town, Rightly So, and Embellish the Lace.“We talk quite often and we always have had the best relationship and still do to this day,” said Tony Dutrow. “I have an enormous amount of respect for him as a horseman. He's an elite horseman; everything he has achieved proves that. It's hard to take care of a horse better than Rick takes care of his horses. He sees things before they become problems. He's still passionate about this game, and the best might be yet to come.”The post Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. Records 2000th Career Win at Belmont Park appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.