Contact: Jim Miller
(708) 780-3700

Jockey C. H. Marquez Jr. Wins 2,000th Career Race

STICKNEY, IL -- Jockey C. H. Marquez Jr. guided home Snowbird to victory in the eighth race on Hawthorne's Sunday card, posting the 2,000th victory of his career. The 33-year-old native of Puerto Rico is the son of former jockey C.H. Marquez Sr., who rode in Illinois in the 1960s and 1970s.

C.H. Marquez Jr. began riding in 1985, just two months after his father retired, and has ridden on the Chicago circuit, along with Maryland, Arkansas, New Jersey, and Hong Kong. He won the 1997 Black Eyed Susan at Pimlico aboard Salt It. He also was victorious in the 1997 Jim Beam Stakes at Turfway with Concerto.

Marquez currently sits fourth in the Hawthorne fall meet standings with nine victories.

Hawthorne races from September 24 through January 2. Racing is slated for five days a week, Wednesday through Sunday and four days a week in December, Thursday through Sunday with an option to run on Wednesdays. First post daily is 1:10 pm. Hawthorne can be contacted at 708-780-3700 or on the web at www.hawthorneracecourse.com.