His first top level horse was Thirty Six Red with which he won the 1990 Grade 1 Wood Memorial Stakes and earned a second-place finish in that year's Belmont Stakes.
Nick Zito went on to win the Preakness once, and the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes twice.
He got his big break in 1991 when he won his first Kentucky Derby on Strike the Gold.
He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2005, a year that his stable won more than $8 million in purses.
[1] Zito and his wife, Kim, advocates for the just treatment of horses and are involved with the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.