OZONE PARK, N.Y. – It is more about quality than quantity these days for jockey John Velazquez, but soon his quantity of wins will reach a significant milestone. Velazquez will soon ride his 6,000th winner in North America, joining just 17 other riders to have accomplished the feat. Velazquez, who will turn 47 years old on Saturday, has 5,996 wins – which includes one victory in Puerto Rico – according to Equibase statistics. Velazquez has only three mounts at Aqueduct Wednesday, two on Thursday, and is named on three horses Friday at Churchill Downs, including Seeking the Soul in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap. “It seems like it’s getting farther away from me,” said Velazquez, who enters the week on an 0-for-13 run since his last victory on Nov. 11. “It’s nothing I actually set out to do. . . . One day when I retire I’ll look back and see I accomplished something. Numbers are numbers. For me, I just want to do the best job I can do.” Perhaps the most impressive number Velazquez will look back fondly on will be purse money won. He is the all-time leader in that category with $395,309,104. At the 2013 Breeders’ Cup, Velazquez suffered pretty severe injuries and had to have his spleen removed. Less than three months later, he was back riding and has basically stayed injury free since. He acknowledges that over the last few years he has concentrated on riding the better races. “I don’t feel like I need to prove anything to anybody,” said Velazquez, a Hall of Famer and two-time Kentucky Derby winner. “I think that I like to concentrate on winning on some maidens and horses that are going to take me somewhere in the future. That’s what I try to do for the most part. “I do still ride the lesser-quality races for the customers I have – it keeps you busy, keeps you fit – but I try to minimize those.” Velazquez said he still gets a thrill from winning a race, especially one like the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf aboard Sistercharlie three weeks ago at Breeders’ Cup. “Winning doesn’t change, man,” Velazquez said. “The fire’s there. The day that I feel that it’s not there I better walk.”