On Friday, veteran jockey Luis Rivera Jr. won the third race at Monmouth Park with Strawberry Red, who he also owns and trains.

Rivera, 53, has been riding since 1987 and now has 1,560 victories. He has been training since 2018. Strawberry Red’s win in the conditioned $12,500 claiming sprint is Rivera's third as a conditioner from 18 starters.

“Everyone gets to celebrate this – the owner, trainer, and jockey,” Rivera joked. “I just get up every morning and start working. I just have the one horse now that I own, train, and ride so that makes it a little easier. But this is why I keep doing this, for times like this. I love it.”

Strawberry Red was Rivera’s first mount of 2020. He said he began training “because I know I can’t ride forever. I need something to do when I stop riding.”

Strawberry Red, a 6-year-old gelding owned by Rivera’s La Familia Stable, is now 6 for 31. He paid $13.60 on Friday.

Photo courtesy of Equi-Photo Inc.