Vazquez wins 5 at Oaklawn

Jockey Ramon Vazquez was closer than coins in one's pocket to making history Sunday at Oaklawn Park.

Vazquez ride five winners and had two agonizingly close seconds on the nine-race card. With six he would have tied the track record set in 1969 by Larry Snyder, now an Oaklawn steward, and tied three times by Hall of Famer Pat Day.

Vazquez took an 11-10 lead over Shaun Bridgmohan in the local standings, Bridgmohan with four victories on Friday's card.

Vazquez won five races for five different trainers, finishing second by a nose in the first race and by a head in the fifth. He won races 2-4 and both ends of the late daily double, booting home Joy Boy ($8.60) in the featured eighth. His two other mounts on the card finished out of the money.

Vazquez won Sunday, in order, aboard Baby Wildcat ($7) for Chris Hartman, Dr. Spin ($2.80) for Federico Villafranco, We Be Stormin ($24.20) for Al Cates, Joy Boy for Kellyn Gorder and She's Live ($5) for Karl Broberg. His near-misses came for Villafranco and Gorder, respectively.

The Puerto Rican native, who recently turned 31, came to Oaklawn off his second-straight riding title at Remington Park in Oklahoma City. The son of a jockey, Vazquez finished third in the Oaklawn standings last year with 32 victories, behind repeat winner Ricardo Santana Jr. (59) and David Mello (35). On closing day, he won the Northern Spur aboard the Gorder-trained Bourbonize.

Day tied Snyder's record in 1986 with the greatest riding performance in track history -- six wins from seven mounts -- and also had Oaklawn six-baggers in 1993 and 1995.

Sports on 01/26/2015

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