De Paulo wins 1,000th career race

March 21, 2024 – Woodbine-based trainer Mike De Paulo added a treasured milestone to his career when he recorded his 1,000th victory on Friday afternoon at Gulfstream Park.

The conditioner earned the win with Pop Rox, a 3-year-old daughter of Munnings, who broke her maiden courtesy of the three-quarter length score in the sixth race, contested at 5 ½ furlongs over the main track.

Owned by Zilli Racing Stables and bred in Ontario by Howard Walton, the filly paid $40.60 for the win. Micah Husbands was in the irons.

“We have a great team – everyone does a wonderful job with the horses,” said De Paulo, whose wife Josie is assistant trainer for the stable. “Very happy to get this win. It’s always nice to be able to say that you won 1,000 races.”

Born in Toronto, De Paulo has been around the racetrack since he began walking hots at 19.

He worked for veteran conditioners including Jerry Meyer, Bill Marko and Joe Attard before acquiring his trainer’s license in 1986 at 22. A year later, he notched his first training win.

De Paulo campaigned a Canadian Horse of the Year, Caren, the country’s 3-year-old filly champion in 2016. Other notable horses from his barn include Prince of Wales winners Shillelagh Slew (2006) and Pender Harbour (2011), the latter a Sovereign winner as Canada’s champion 3-year-old male. Pender Harbour, third in the 2011 King’s Plate, won 10 stakes.

Noholdingback Bear, Canada’s champion sprinter in 2016, and multiple stakes winner Krz Ruckus also enjoyed great success under his tutelage.

De Paulo has 70 career stakes wins, 9 of them graded, and nearly $41.5 million in purse earnings.