Bejarano takes off mounts on Friday's card

Leading rider Rafael Bejarano took off his mounts on Friday after he was unseated in the gallop-out after Thursday’s first race at Santa Anita.

Bejarano’s mount, Believe Too, collapsed after the finish from the effects of a hot day. Bejarano did not ride the remainder of Thursday’s program, citing shoulder and neck pain. Bejarano had intended to ride on Friday, according to his agent Joe Ferrer. By late morning, plans changed and Bejarano was excused from his mounts for the day.

Believe Too, a 3-year-old colt, was on his feet after a few minutes and was vanned back to trainer Richard Baltas’s stable. Believe Too was the subject of two $25,000 claims on Thursday, which were voided because the colt was vanned off, track stewards said.

Had Believe Too not been vanned off, he would have been claimed by Tim Yakteen, who trained the colt until a recent transfer to Baltas from owner KM Racing Enterprises.