Mr. 4000 was accepting congratulations from just about everyone on the backstretch at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 11. Trainer Tom Amoss, who won his 4,000th career race on Aug. 10, was humbled as he got the good wishes on his personal milestone.
Amoss, 61, ranks 15th all-time in training wins. His historic win came when Reeves Thoroughbred Racing's Isolate won the Tale of the Cat Stakes.
"It's nice to come out to Saratoga on a beautiful morning, which this is, and have an opportunity to reflect," Amoss said outside his barn.
Amoss has had memorable moments happen to him at the Spa before. He won the first grade 1 of his career when Heritage of Gold won the 2000 Go for Wand Handicap (G1), which is now run at Aqueduct Racetrack. Heritage of Gold also won the Diana Handicap (G2T) in 1999, before it became a grade 1 race. In 2020, the Amoss-trained Serengeti Empress won the Ballerina Stakes (G1).
When he graduated from LSU in 1983, he already knew he would be a horse trainer, but that was the year he made his first trip to Saratoga.
"I flew up for the first time and stayed a week," Amoss said. "I didn't realize what the big leagues were like. I have a lot of good memories at Saratoga."
Amoss also has a "second" job at the Spa during the summer as he is part of the broadcast team that brings "Saratoga Live" every race day on the networks of Fox Sports.
Because of his training schedule, Amoss said he is limited to three shows per week, and he doesn't mail it in.
"It is hard," he said. "You aren't going to see me out on the lake in a boat on the off days. As soon as those races are drawn, any free time I have is devoted to them. I love doing it. I get to do the great races and I work with a tremendous group of people on both sides of the camera. It's a good show and I am proud of it. In a little way, I bring a perspective that other people might not be familiar with. As long as they let me do it, I will keep doing it!"
