DEL MAR, Calif. – With Joel Rosario, the leading rider the past three summers at Del Mar, having relocated to New York, his rivalry with Rafael Bejarano for the top spot at every meeting in Southern California has become a one-man show, and what a show Bejarano has been putting on this summer at Del Mar. Through Wednesday's races, Bejarano was atop the jockey standings with 32 wins, six more than second-place Garrett Gomez. He also has dominated the stakes competition, winning eight of the first 19 run at this meet, and putting him on pace to surpass the season record of 12 stakes wins held jointly by Laffit Pincay Jr. (1976), Chris McCarron (1995), Gary Stevens (1997), and Corey Nakatani (1998). Bejarano won the riding title here in 2008. Gomez has decided to forego the extensive travel schedule he undertook in recent years, and his commitment to Southern California racing has found him vying for leading rider, even though he tends to ride fewer horses on a daily basis than Bejarano. But Gomez could make some inroads on Bejarano’s lead in the next fortnight, because Bejarano is scheduled to travel to Saratoga on Aug. 25 to ride Liaison in the Travers Stakes. Joe Talamo is third in the standings, with 21 wins, and Martin Garcia (12) and the underrated, vastly improved Edwin Maldonado (11) round out the top five. Del Mar rider standings Jockey Mounts Wins Win% Earnings Rafael Bejarano 128 32 25.00 $1,979,988 Garrett Gomez 121 26 21.48 1,514,964 Joseph Talamo 129 22 17.05 1,364,812 Martin Garcia 98 12 12.24 651,800 Edwin Maldonado 95 12 12.63 648,884 Victor Espinoza 93 9 9.67 755,810 Corey Nakatani 69 8 11.59 606,096 Juan Hernandez 67 7 10.44 287,070 Martin Pedroza 78 7 8.97 332,530 David Flores 70 6 8.57 451,807 Through Wednesday's races