Luis Rivera Jr. rode his 1,559th winner and trained his first when Strawberry Red won the first race at Monmouth Park on Saturday.

The win was Rivera's first as a rider since June 2017. Strawberry Red, the only horse Rivera trains, was making his third start of the meet.

Trevor McCarthy, Carlos Hernandez, and Jose Ferrer had ridden Strawberry Red in his prior starts but Rivera climbed aboard for Saturday's $8,000 claiming race. It was his first mount since last October.

"I like to keep busy," Rivera said. "I've been around horses my whole life. I like doing everything with them. I'm at the track at 5:30 every morning to gallop horses, then I check in on this one and then I ride whenever and wherever I can."

Rivera now has 310 riding victories at Monmouth. He also has 578 wins at Suffolk Downs.