Jockey Angel Cruz reached a career milestone in Sunday's sixth race at Laurel Park when he notched his 1,000th lifetime victory aboard Molly of Stratford. Cruz, 29, rode his first winner on April 8, 2014, at Charles Town aboard Texas Glitz, and was a finalist for that year's Eclipse Award as outstanding apprentice jockey. He bested Irad Ortiz Jr. by two wins to capture the 2015 Aqueduct Spring meet title. "It's been a hard path to get to 1,000," Cruz said in a post-race interview broadcast by Laurel Park. "It's been a lot of hard work and determination to do it, and I just want to thank everybody that's helped me in my career." Cruz, a native of Puerto Rico, came to the United States at age 11, and hails from a family of horsemen. His grandfather, Jose Hiraldo, and uncle, Joel Hiraldo, were jockeys. A cousin, John Hiraldo, rode his first winner at Laurel in 2020, and is currently based at Delaware Park. Cruz earned career-highs in both victories (138) and earnings ($5,627,131) in 2023. This year, Cruz boasts 82 wins and over $2.7 million in purse money. He has won six graded stakes races including a Grade 1 for Arabians at Pimlico in 2023, and mentioned his victory aboard Dancing Rags in Keeneland's Grade 1 Alcibiades in 2016 as a career highlight. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.