Joel Rosario

Joel Rosario, one of the top jockeys in Southern California thoroughbred horse racing since 2009, is moving to New York, his agent, Ron Ebanks, said Sunday. Rosario will begin riding in New York on June 27. Rosario and Rafael Bejarano have dominated the jockey standings at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Del Mar. Ebanks said he and Rosario, 27, have been contemplating a move to the East Coast for a year. A broken collarbone suffered by jockey John Velazquez caused the decision to be expedited.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The horse with the short name and the long stride won the Kentucky Derby here Saturday. Fans of Orb, and headline writers worldwide, rejoiced. Orb's daddy was Malibu Moon; thus the short name with its perfect family connection. Other choices might have been Full, Half or Neil Armstrong. But the owners, cousins Dinny Phipps and Stuart Janney, got it right, just as their wonderful horse did, in front of 151,616 at Churchill Downs. Joel Rosario got it right too. The super jockey from the Dominican Republic left the Southern California jockey colony last year to head east in search of new adventures.

Joel Rosario rode six winners at Hollywood Park on Friday, tying a track record originally set by Hall of Fame jockey Bill Shoemaker in 1953. Rosario rode five consecutive winners, sat out the seventh race, and then won the eighth with Stockings to tie the mark Shoemaker set on June 20, 1953. Shoemaker repeated the feat in 1970. Laffit Pincay Jr. equaled it in 1968, as did Kent Desormeaux in 1992. Rosario finished second in the first race and his mount in the seventh was scratched.

The final day of the 24-day Betfair Hollywood Park autumn meeting Sunday produced a 60-1 shocker in the $200,000 King Glorious Stakes. Weewinnin, under jockey Jose Valdivia Jr., pulled off the upset in the seven-furlong race for Cal-bred 2-year-olds. Weewinnin, trained by Brian Koriner, returned $122.00, $54.20 and $20.40. Fighting Hussar finished second and Monument third. The riding title was won for the first time by 30-year-old jockey Edwin Maldonado, who finished one victory ahead of Rafael Bejarano.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The horse with the short name and the long stride won the Kentucky Derby here Saturday. Fans of Orb, and headline writers worldwide, rejoiced. Orb's daddy was Malibu Moon; thus the short name with its perfect family connection. Other choices might have been Full, Half or Neil Armstrong. But the owners, cousins Dinny Phipps and Stuart Janney, got it right, just as their wonderful horse did, in front of 151,616 at Churchill Downs. Joel Rosario got it right too. The super jockey from the Dominican Republic left the Southern California jockey colony last year to head east in search of new adventures.

The final day of the 24-day Betfair Hollywood Park autumn meeting Sunday produced a 60-1 shocker in the $200,000 King Glorious Stakes. Weewinnin, under jockey Jose Valdivia Jr., pulled off the upset in the seven-furlong race for Cal-bred 2-year-olds. Weewinnin, trained by Brian Koriner, returned $122.00, $54.20 and $20.40. Fighting Hussar finished second and Monument third. The riding title was won for the first time by 30-year-old jockey Edwin Maldonado, who finished one victory ahead of Rafael Bejarano.

There could be a changing of the guard taking place at Santa Anita, where 22-year-old jockey Joe Talamo is making a strong bid to win the autumn riding championship. Talamo won four races Thursday at Santa Anita, giving him 20 for the meeting while moving out to a four-win lead over Rafael Bejarano in the jockey standings. Talamo has never won a riding title in Southern California. Bejarano and Joel Rosario have dominated in recent years. But Talamo has been making steady progress and seems in ideal position to challenge Bejarano.

Horse racing's world championships take place next weekend in Kentucky, and trainer Donald Warren and owner Buddy Johnston wish their top handicap horse, Acclamation, could be running, but a foot issue has sent Acclamation to the sideline, so Saturday's $175,000 California Cup Classic at Santa Anita let them have some fun with their "B" team. Norvsky, a late-developing 5-year-old gelding who has been making steady improvement since being treated for ulcers, rallied for a neck victory over Lucky Primo under hot jockey Rafael Bejarano.

There were expressions of relief instead of elation in the Santa Anita winner's circle Saturday by 70-year-old trainer Mike Harrington even though his talented 3-year-old, Creative Cause, emerged victorious in the Grade II $300,000 San Felipe Stakes, beating Bodemeister by three-quarters of a length in the 1 1/16-mile race. That's because Harrington has much bigger prizes in his sights - the April 7 Santa Anita Derby and the May 5 Kentucky Derby. And Creative Cause, a son of Giant's Causeway, is very much in the upper echelon of Derby contenders.

With the finishing line rapidly approaching in Saturday's Grade II, $196,000 Swaps Stakes, jockey Joel Rosario, aboard Skipshot, began to wonder whether his horse would have to settle for second place behind heavily favored Sidney's Candy in the 1 1/8-mile race. Sidney's Candy had opened a 1½-length lead with an eighth of a mile to go. But Rosario and Skipshot never gave up. A tiring Sidney's Candy, trying to go wire to wire, couldn't hold on. Skipshot, sent off at odds of 4-1, won by a head in the championship race for 3-year-olds at Hollywood Park.

There could be a changing of the guard taking place at Santa Anita, where 22-year-old jockey Joe Talamo is making a strong bid to win the autumn riding championship. Talamo won four races Thursday at Santa Anita, giving him 20 for the meeting while moving out to a four-win lead over Rafael Bejarano in the jockey standings. Talamo has never won a riding title in Southern California. Bejarano and Joel Rosario have dominated in recent years. But Talamo has been making steady progress and seems in ideal position to challenge Bejarano.

DEL MAR — On a day the ground was shaking 137 miles away with a swarm of earthquakes near Brawley, the most powerful aftershock was felt down the stretch at Del Mar when Dullahan, a 3-year-old colt based on the East Coast, ran down 6-5 favorite Game On Dude to win the Grade I, $1-million TVG Pacific Classic by half a length. It produced a memorable homecoming for jockey Joel Rosario, Southern California's leading rider who left for New York at the end of June and came back on Sunday to ride the Polytrack-loving Dullahan, who set a track record by finishing the 1 1/4 miles in 1 minute 59.54 seconds.

Less than 24 hours after the announcement that top jockey Joel Rosario was leaving the Southern California circuit to head to the East Coast, the scramble has begun to take over his business. "All the agents and jockeys said they'd pitch in and help him get to the airport," jockey agent Scott McClellan said. And he wasn't joking. Rosario has won 11 riding titles in Southern California, including the recent Santa Anita meeting. His agent, Ron Ebanks, announced on Sunday that Rosario would be leaving to ride in New York on June 27. His departure creates opportunities for a strong jockey colony in Southern California.

Joel Rosario, one of the top jockeys in Southern California thoroughbred horse racing since 2009, is moving to New York, his agent, Ron Ebanks, said Sunday. Rosario will begin riding in New York on June 27. Rosario and Rafael Bejarano have dominated the jockey standings at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Del Mar. Ebanks said he and Rosario, 27, have been contemplating a move to the East Coast for a year. A broken collarbone suffered by jockey John Velazquez caused the decision to be expedited.

The longest graded stakes race in North America ended Sunday at Santa Anita with a furious two-horse charge down the stretch that was so close at the finish line it took six minutes to decide whose nose crossed the line first. Bourbon Bay and jockey Joel Rosario were determined the winners of the 13/4-mile $150,000 San Juan Capistrano Handicap by a nose over Eagle Poise and jockey Alex Solis. "That's a heart attack horse," a Bourbon Bay supporter quipped in the winner's circle after his No. 2 was posted on the tote board in the first-place position.

Generally, post-race celebrations in the Winner's Circle at Santa Anita are fairly sedate, with maybe a dozen or so people posing for a photo with the victorious horse. But that certainly wasn't the case after I'll Have Another edged 9-10 favorite Creative Cause by a nose in Saturday's Santa Anita Derby before a crowd of 33,166 to establish himself as the West Coast's top representative in the Kentucky Derby on May 5. There were hundreds of rowdy people crammed together in the Winner's Circle.

Generally, post-race celebrations in the Winner's Circle at Santa Anita are fairly sedate, with maybe a dozen or so people posing for a photo with the victorious horse. But that certainly wasn't the case after I'll Have Another edged 9-10 favorite Creative Cause by a nose in Saturday's Santa Anita Derby before a crowd of 33,166 to establish himself as the West Coast's top representative in the Kentucky Derby on May 5. There were hundreds of rowdy people crammed together in the Winner's Circle.

They're back in the saddle again at Santa Anita. The thoroughfares around Arcadia have traffic heading for the thoroughbreds. For the next five weeks, the track where the turf meets the foothills will be all dressed up and ready to go. It was looking pretty fashionable Saturday, when the newly named Santa Anita Autumn Meeting held its second day of autumn racing against a backdrop of blue skies and picturesque mountains. It was the kind of day that might prompt racing officials to capture it in a bottle for later use. If this sport is dying, as we hear so often in the media from those who validate that theory by paying no attention to it, then it still keeps an occasional tight grip on the oxygen bottle.

There were expressions of relief instead of elation in the Santa Anita winner's circle Saturday by 70-year-old trainer Mike Harrington even though his talented 3-year-old, Creative Cause, emerged victorious in the Grade II $300,000 San Felipe Stakes, beating Bodemeister by three-quarters of a length in the 1 1/16-mile race. That's because Harrington has much bigger prizes in his sights - the April 7 Santa Anita Derby and the May 5 Kentucky Derby. And Creative Cause, a son of Giant's Causeway, is very much in the upper echelon of Derby contenders.

Apparently, it takes a village for a lot of things. Case in point: the 75th running of the Santa Anita Handicap, won by Ron The Greek on Saturday. This 5-year-old, with 16 lifetime starts before going to the gate in Santa Anita's prestigious $750,000 test, was on his fourth trainer and his ninth jockey. He is also jointly owned by three people. His most recent trainer is veteran Bill Mott, the man who trained Cigar to world fame. Mott trains mostly in the East and in Florida and, in keeping with the team approach, sent assistant trainer Rudolf Basset to handle things when they flew the horse in Wednesday.