FARMINGTON – There are only a handful of jockeys who have amassed the kind of success found by Ken Tohill.

Of the approximately tens of thousands of jockeys who have been given a leg up onto a racehorse across North America, only 80 have ever won 4,000 or more races. Tohill, who reached that mark aboard Rainbow Surebet at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa, in May, has made a lasting impression on the sport of horse racing in New Mexico.

The all-time leading rider at Sunland Park near El Paso, Texas, Tohill made history again last month, guiding long shot Wild On Ice to an improbable victory in the Grade 3, $600,000 Sunland Derby. That victory not only vaulted the 3-year-old gelding into a spot in the starting gate for next month’s Kentucky Derby, but it also gave Tohill a victory in one of only a few stakes races he hadn’t won at Sunland Park.

“It was a long time coming, that’s for sure,” Tohill said last weekend inside the jockeys room at SunRay Park and Casino, where he’s riding for a handful of days before heading back to Iowa where the 2023 season at Prairie Meadows opens on May 12.

Wild On Ice, a three-time winner from five starts, was the longest shot on the board in the Sunland Derby last time out. Trained by Joel Marr for owner Frank Sumpter, the son of Tapizar was always in contention under Tohill, eventually inching clear inside the final furlong to win by 1¼ lengths.

Before the upset in the Sunland Derby, Wild On Ice was well-beaten in his two most recent starts. The victory automatically makes him eligible to start in the Run for the Roses on Saturday, May 6.

“I don’t think any of us expected him to perform the way he did,” Tohill said. “There’s some really impressive horses that will be in the Kentucky Derby, and that’s what this sport is all about are dreams.”

For Tohill, 60, the road to this point in his career has been extremely well-traveled.

Before arriving in New Mexico, where he’s dominated thoroughbred riding for nearly two decades, Tohill was a staple in Northern California, where he began his career in 1979. He rode his first winner at the age of 16 at Pleasanton, just outside San Francisco.

Tohill stayed in Northern California for the early part of his career, riding alongside Russell Baze, the winningest North American rider of all time with more than 12,000 victories. It was difficult to win races there, and along with many of his colleagues on the racetrack, Tohill became discouraged and looked elsewhere.

“Staring at the back end of (Baze) for all those years four or five times a day was a humbling experience,” Tohill joked. “But it was all a good learning process looking back at it.”

Tohill achieved massive success in New Mexico, winning multiple riding championships at Sunland Park, as well as SunRay Park and Albuquerque Downs while becoming one of the most dominant riders on the circuit for more than a decade.

According to Equibase, the official source for thoroughbred horse racing statistics, Tohill has finished in the top 100 for wins in North America 12 times since 2000, and he won a career-high 221 races in 2005 to finish 20th nationally.

Tohill finished third in the jockey standings with 23 winners at the most recent Sunland Park season, which wrapped up earlier this month. Tohill now has 4,099 career winners with earnings well over $71 million.

During his long run in New Mexico, Tohill developed a great relationship with Marr, for whom he has ridden quite a few winners.

“(Marr) has been so good to me over the years,” Tohill said. “We’ve really gotten quite a bit accomplished.”

This will be the first Kentucky Derby for both Tohill and Marr. Wild On Ice is expected to go into the starting gate as one of the longest shots in the Run for the Roses.

“Our horse is doing everything well,” Tohill said. “I’m going to try and do everything right, I know (Marr) is going to do everything right.”

Throughout his 40-plus year career, Tohill has maintained lasting relationships with countless trainers and horsemen. At the most recent Sunland Park season, Tohill rode stakes winners for former rider Nancy Summers, who has flourished into a top trainer in the state. Tohill also captured the Peppers Pride Stakes last month at Sunland Park aboard Corrina Corrina for trainer Gary Cross, who has won nearly 800 races throughout his career.

“I’ve been fortunate to have some great success with some amazing people along the way,” Tohill said. “There have been a lot of people who have been a part of all of this.”

Tohill’s wife, Robyn, remains his biggest supporter.

“She’s why I'm still here,” Tohill said. “She’s been watching out for me for 20-plus years, and she has been a major part of my success.”

Wild On Ice will not be the first New Mexico-based horse to reach the gate in the Kentucky Derby. In 2009, Mine That Bird and jockey Calvin Borel caused a stunning upset in the Run for the Roses before finishing second in the Preakness Stakes two weeks later.

New Mexico-based horsemen Pierre and Leslie Amestoy, co-owners of Practical Move, also will be represented in the Kentucky Derby. Winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in Arcadia, California, on April 8, Practical Move is trained by Tim Yakteen and is considered one of the favorites in the leadoff race of the Triple Crown.

Tohill has two mounts on Saturday’s program at SunRay Park, riding I’m A Cool Cat in the fifth race and Dom Proud in the 10th and final race on the card.