Espinoza hires Tom Knust as agent

ARCADIA, Calif. – Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza switched agents over the weekend, ending an eight-year partnership with Brian Beach and hiring Tom Knust.

Knust said Sunday that he has started working on behalf of Espinoza and will continue to represent Abel Cedillo.

In an interview Sunday, Espinoza said he parted ways with Beach in order to have an agent based at Santa Anita. Beach and his wife, Lotta, have purchased a home in Idaho and are spending a majority of their time away from California.

“I decided to ask somebody else,” Espinoza said.

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Espinoza took a break from riding in late 2020 and in the early months of this year, but has been more active in the last month.

“The goal is to build up my business,” he said.

The process of gaining mounts has been slow. Espinoza, 48, has had 10 mounts on five racing days this month at Santa Anita and has two mounts Friday on an eight-race program with short fields. This year, Espinoza has won with 4 of 35 mounts. He won a career-best 259 races in 2006.

Espinoza was the regular rider of two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome and American Pharoah, who swept the 2015 Triple Crown and was named Horse of the Year.