"I feel very fortunate to be in this position," Magee said. "The last few years have been very good to me, and I've been very lucky to have the opportunity to have driving some outstanding horses over the years."
Magee had scored win number 9,999 earlier in the night in Balmoral Park's $7,500 Third Race, a Cardinal elimination for three-year-old state-bred colts and geldings with Team Hutch. The sophomore son of Sportsmaster took the lead at the half and never looked back, pacing in 1:52.3 and winning by nearly five lengths.
Magee had a few anxious moments during the past week, however, as he was only two wins away going into Friday night's card at Maywood Park.
"It seems like when you get this close, things start happening that you don't quite expect," Magee noted. "Just things here and there start going wrong with horses, and not that there's a great deal of pressure, but there's self-inflicted pressure to get the wins so I can just get back to driving without thinking about that."
The 51-year-old Magee, a native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, is the first Chicago-based driver to achieve 10,000 lifetime victories.
"When I first started driving horses I didn't think that this would become an occupation," Magee said. "But I just got very lucky. I can honestly say, also, that I've never taken my success for granted. I'm always very thankful to be in this position."
Magee has captured driving titles at every Chicago racetrack including a record 12 times at Maywood Park and 11 times at the now-defunct Sportsman's Park.
"I've changed my driving habits a bit over the past few years because I think racing seven days a week is just way too much," Dave noted. "Five would be much more appropriate for everyone, including the horses. I also cut down on my driving because I enjoy spending time with my family, and racing seven nights a week just doesn't allow for much of that."
