Let me be the first to say it. Billy Parker Jr. belongs in the of Fame. With Monday afternoon's victory, "Zeke" became the ninth driver in history to win more than 10,000 races in his thirty-three year driving career with earnings of almost $27 million (he's not too shabby a trainer either with almost 1,200 training victories and $3 million dollars earned training since 1991). With his 10,000 victory, Billy Parker Jr. joins Herve Fillion, Cat Manzi, Dave Palone, Tony Morgan, Dave Magee, Walter Case Jr., and John Campbell, and Mike Lachance in the 10,000 win club.
Granted, Zeke Parker may not have driven a horse of the year, nor has he won one of the classics, but for anyone to be this productive in their career, it says a lot about him. For whatever reason, he has chosen not to race at the marquee tracks but it should not eliminate him from being enshrined in Goshen. When you win 10,000 races, you deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, plain and simple.
Hopefully, it will not take too long for the honor to be bestowed upon him.
No comments:
Post a Comment