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View Full Version : Why are no riders leaving California?


Stillriledup
12-10-2009, 01:21 AM
There are a few riders who are consistently in the top 20 in California who have decent ability, yet are staying in California, getting 1 or 2 mounts per day, with no slots money, short fields and they have to ride against Bejarano, Rosario, etc.

Why not move your tack to a slots track and ride against riders who aren't half as good as the jocks in California right now?

I know the California lifestyle is great, but you only have so many rides before you are forced to retire or lose your skills, why fight for mounts at a non slots track and a riding colony that is stronger than a non slots/small fields track should be?

Not only that, but the closest track isn't within short driving distance, so you can't pick up a mount at a nighttime track or at a track that's running on the off days.

I can see why an elite rider might want to live and work in So Cal, but these middle of the road jocks, i can't see why they're sticking around.

lamboguy
12-10-2009, 01:43 AM
nakatani is going to ride in oaklawn. gomez goes to the better new york meets. rosario is pretty new to being a star out there. the rest of them are all second string riders that wouldn't get to many mounts in slot machine tracks.i can't imagine any trainer using victor espinoza or alex solis over a guy like dana whitney in penn national. those guys got business out there thats why they won't leave for another place for a little more money.

Stillriledup
12-10-2009, 01:47 AM
nakatani is going to ride in oaklawn. gomez goes to the better new york meets. rosario is pretty new to being a star out there. the rest of them are all second string riders that wouldn't get to many mounts in slot machine tracks.i can't imagine any trainer using victor espinoza or alex solis over a guy like dana whitney in penn national. those guys got business out there thats why they won't leave for another place for a little more money.

Dana Whitney isn't half the rider that Espinoza or Solis is. Whitney came west and couldnt get a mount, he wasnt good enough to ride out there.

Backstretch Pirate
12-10-2009, 08:26 AM
Dana Whitney isn't half the rider that Espinoza or Solis is. Whitney came west and couldnt get a mount, he wasnt good enough to ride out there.

I'll take Whitney over Solis and Espinoza at this point in thier careers

lamboguy
12-10-2009, 09:08 AM
Dana Whitney isn't half the rider that Espinoza or Solis is. Whitney came west and couldnt get a mount, he wasnt good enough to ride out there.dana whitney is not 10 times better than espinoza and solis, he's 100 times better than those guys.

levinmpa
12-10-2009, 09:28 AM
Kayla Stra recently moved her tack to Northern Cal is has won several races since making the move.

wisconsin
12-10-2009, 10:40 AM
Kayla Stra recently moved her tack to Northern Cal is has won several races since making the move.

She gets a lot of junk horses who generally outrun their odds when she is up. Definately a hard tryer who never gives up. She rarely runs last.

Fingal
12-10-2009, 11:36 AM
There are several names I can think of as to how can they survive considering the lack of mounts they get, but it may be outside the track money making ventures that enable them to stick it out. For example Victor Espinoza has a gym in Pasadena. Alex Solis & Mike Smith now have their wine making venture, & their may be other jocks that have another stream of income that isn't known to the general public.

BlueShoe
12-10-2009, 12:47 PM
Also there is the family connection. Some riders have married women that have lived in SoCal all their lives and who may be reluctant to leave or stay behind for long separations. Children are in school and are doing well, and moving them would be disruptive. Other relatives may live in the area, and good friendships have been formed outside the racing world. These are the type of personal reasons that might motivate a competent but not top rider to stay put.

exiles
12-10-2009, 02:07 PM
Dana Whitney isn't half the rider that Espinoza or Solis is. Whitney came west and couldnt get a mount, he wasnt good enough to ride out there.
Espinosa and Solis couldn't be house jockeys at Penn National.

lamboguy
12-10-2009, 02:31 PM
Espinosa and Solis couldn't be house jockeys at Penn National.i think theguy got dana mixed up with someone else, i don't ever remember dana on the west coast, i think he rode oaklawn last year.

alex and victor were both go to guys for a long time. neither of them are rail riders anymore. they only ride the best mounts these days, and are probably going to retire real soon.

bettheoverlay
12-10-2009, 04:01 PM
Espinoza is about as RETARDED as it gets;And Solis is not very far behind.

Statistically speaking, since Jan1 Santa Anita, Hollywood, DelMar

Winning favorites
Espinoza 42% 1.06 ROI
Bejarano 33% .82 ROI

Winners Odds>=6
Solis 11% 1.11 ROI
Bejarano 06% .73 ROI

Stillriledup
12-10-2009, 04:03 PM
Espinosa and Solis couldn't be house jockeys at Penn National.

How many hall of famers are riding at Penn National?

cj
12-10-2009, 04:41 PM
Maybe they aren't leaving because they like Saturdays off!

Stillriledup
12-10-2009, 04:42 PM
Maybe they aren't leaving because they like Saturdays off!

:lol:

speldedo
12-11-2009, 12:01 AM
Espinosa and Solis couldn't be house jockeys at Penn National.

Surely you jest! ... and don't call me Shirley.

Stillriledup
12-11-2009, 03:40 AM
i think theguy got dana mixed up with someone else, i don't ever remember dana on the west coast, i think he rode oaklawn last year.

alex and victor were both go to guys for a long time. neither of them are rail riders anymore. they only ride the best mounts these days, and are probably going to retire real soon.

Dana Whitney came to the west coast for a brief time, maybe like a month or two and then went back home.

delayjf
12-11-2009, 09:51 AM
imagine any trainer using victor espinoza or alex solis over a guy like dana whitney

I don't know much about Whitney because I'm not familiar with him, but Victor and Alex can ride with anyone. Alex broke his back a while back so their might be the preception that he's lost his edge. Quite frankly, I don't understand why Victor doesn't get more stakes quality mounts. Maybe SoCalFan can enlighten us.

Show Me the Wire
12-11-2009, 11:40 AM
I don't know much about Whitney because I'm not familiar with him, but Victor and Alex can ride with anyone. Alex broke his back a while back so their might be the preception that he's lost his edge. Quite frankly, I don't understand why Victor doesn't get more stakes quality mounts. Maybe SoCalFan can enlighten us.

Better talent available, like Talamo, Rosario, etc. Espinoza for the most part, the last few years, has been riding tentatively and finding trouble for his mounts.

lamboguy
12-11-2009, 12:19 PM
maybe because the trainers would much rather use , gomez, berjano, rossario, smith, quinones, or pedroza. they don't have big fields anyway there.

toussaud
12-12-2009, 10:34 PM
there actually is a very strong rumor that smokin joe is trying to get to oaklawn for the winter meet.

delayjf
12-15-2009, 07:05 PM
Better talent available, like Talamo, Rosario, etc. Espinoza for the most part, the last few years, has been riding tentatively and finding trouble for his mounts.

I will have to take your word for it. I thought Victor had turned the corner with his TC campaign on War Emblem, he's won G1 races and has one BC victory. He's been the leading rider at one time at every So Cal meet. Did he suffer a bad spill?? I know it hurt him when the Throughbred Corp folded, he rode a lot of top horses for them.

I'm amazed sometimes at how many good jockey's come out to CA and never catch on. Chris Antley, Jon Court come to mind.