Just days after completing a ninth-consecutive Trainers' Championship triumph at Florida’s Gulfstream Park, Barbadian Saffie Joseph Jnr, kicked off the new season with a double on Thursday’s opening day of the Spring/Summer meet.

Joseph won the fourth and sixth races, the richest on the eight-race card. In the US$60,000 Maiden Special Weight fourth race, Joseph’s four-year-old filly Divine won with Edwin Gonzalez aboard as the 3-2 favourite. Joseph completed the double with 2-1 bet Imonra in the US$62,000 Allowance Optional Claiming sixth race with Paco Lopez riding.

The Spring/Summer meet, which Joseph has won for the past four consecutive years since 2020, runs until September 29.

Joseph is currently ranked eighth on the 2024 trainers’ list in all of North America with horses’ earnings of US$3.07 million.

Reflecting on his championship feat which he wrapped up last weekend, Joseph attributed the win to the quality of his team. The 37-year-old ended the campaign with 66 winners and in excess of US $3.4 million in purse earnings, once again ahead of Hall-of-Famer Todd Pletcher, who finished second with 37 winners.

“We’re always trying to get better, and to win a third championship meet in a row was very gratifying for all the work that the staff put in, and that’s what puts me in this position. I have a good team that works hard and we try to do it together. And the owners that supply these horses, the horses are the backbone and the big piece of the puzzle," Joseph said.

“We’ve got quality and we’ve got quantity, and that’s what you need to win titles and to stay relevant in today’s industry. You’ve got to keep winning. That’s what people want," he added.