Manny Franco staved off a late run from Dylan Davis to win the Aqueduct winter meet riding title, 63-60, the fourth time he’s captured the winter meet crown. Davis did edge Franco in purse money won, $3,323,879 to $3,297,246 over 42 days of racing from Jan. 1 through Sunday. Franco had an eight-win lead over Davis entering the final three days of racing, but Davis pulled within two after winning Sunday’s second race. Both riders ended up with two wins on Sunday’s card. “It means a lot,” Franco, 28, told the New York Racing Association publicity department. “This is what we’re here for. I want to be one of the top riders here on the New York circuit and I work hard to make it happen.” Franco tied a New York Racing Association record when he rode six winners from seven mounts on the Jan. 6 card. He also won five races on March 10. :: Take your handicapping to the next level and play with FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic.  Franco won a meet-best six stakes at the meet, topped by Hit Show’s victory in the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes for 3-year-olds. He is expected to ride that horse in the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial here on April 8 with an eye on making it to the Kentucky Derby. Davis, who won the 2021-22 winter meet, won five stakes including the Busanda on Occult and the Busher on Shidabhuti, both 3-year-old fillies for trainer Chad Brown. Both are expected to run in the Grade 3, $250,000 Gazelle on April 8, with an eye toward the Kentucky Oaks. Filling out the top five in wins were jockeys Jose Lezcano (43), Kendrick Carmouche (35) and Eric Cancel (28). Linda Rice led all trainers with 37 wins from 142 starters and was the leading trainer in purse money won with $1,952,790. It was her third winter meet title. At one point this winter, Rice won seven consecutive races, one shy of the modern NYRA record. Rice was also the leading trainer and owner at the 2022 Aqueduct fall meet. Finishing behind Rice in wins at this winter meet were trainers Rob Atras (23), Chad Brown (16), Rudy Rodriguez (14) and Todd Pletcher (12). Brown led all trainers with five stakes wins. Windylea Farm finished as the leading owner in races won with 12 and total purse money won with $473,760. There was a three-way tie for second between Michael Dubb, Winning Move Stable and Rice. “It’s very gratifying that we’re seeing the fruits of our labor come to fruition,” said Windylea Farm’s Kip O’Neill told NYRA. “We really started to invest more heavily both from a time and a financial standpoint in late 2018 into 2019. We’ve seen a nice growth in our program from a breeding and racing standpoint." The 19-day Aqueduct spring meet begins on Thursday. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.