Keith Kash Jr. made his 3,000th trip to the winner’s circle after scoring with Fultons Fury in MGM Northfield Park’s sixth race on Wednesday (March 16).
Kash sat chilly early in the mile and let his competition carve out expeditious fractions of :26.4 and :55.3. Kash began his bid with Fultons Fury in the third panel and challenged for the lead at the 1:25.4 three-quarter pole, eventually besting his competition by 1-1/2 lengths. The 1:56.1 final clocking represents a new lifetime mark and sixth career score for the seven-year-old trotter, who returned $4.60 to win.
The 42-year-old Kash began driving in 1997. His 3,000 wins have helped him garner over $15 million in purse earnings.
Kash is a third-generation horseman and grew up immersed in harness racing.
“My grandfather won a horse through a promotion at Northfield in the 1950s. The horse’s name was Northfield Pick. He was a money pit, but that is what started it all,” Kash explained. “I started jogging when I was nine and hated it at first. I found it to be monotonous and boring.”
However, while attending Brunswick High School, Keith Kash Jr. began working at the local K-Mart and paddocking horses.
“I was making $5 an hour at K-Mart and was making $35 paddocking horses for Ray Fisher Jr. Simple math taught me that I could paddock two horses and make $70 or I could work 14 hours at K-Mart,” said Kash.
Keith drove his first race in September 1997 at the Ashland County (Ohio) Fair. It resulted in a seventh-place finish in a $600 conditioned race with Company Exec. However, in his second drive on the same program, he won with Improvise Hanover in 2:03.4 for a purse of $525.
Kash’s richest wins have been victories in the Battle of Lake Erie and an Ohio Sires Stakes Championship.
Kash maintains a stable of horses with his wife, Melinda, and father, Keith Kash. The elder Kash has piloted nearly 1,500 winners and was a leading driver at Northfield Park in the 1980s and 1990s.
“We currently have 24 in the barn right now,” offered Kash. “It feels good to hit these milestones on one of your own horses. I have trained the horses I won my 1,000th, 2,000th and now 3,000th race. It just makes it mean more.”
(MGM Northfield Park)