Gallardo coming north for the winter

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Antonio Gallardo, who will finish 2016 as the second-leading rider in North America in wins, will move his tack to Aqueduct for the winter, according to his agent, Matt Muzikar.

Gallardo entered the final week of 2016 with 328 winners on the year, second only to Jose Ortiz’s 350. Gallardo was planning to ride the winter at Gulfstream Park but believes there might be better opportunities for him at Aqueduct. Gallardo rode here on the weekend of Dec. 17-18, winning two races from nine mounts, including the $125,000 Queens County Stakes aboard War Story.

Gallardo, the leading rider at Tampa Bay Downs last winter and spring, moved his tack to New York in September after the meet at Presque Isle Downs. He won 10 races from 94 mounts at Belmont and went 13 for 112 during Aqueduct’s fall session. Gallardo got off to a 5-for-54 start at the Gulfstream meet.

“It was a situation of whether or not he could handle the cold,” Muzikar said of Gallardo’s decision to ride at Aqueduct. “He rode up there and said it’s not that bad. I let him make the final decision. I did not want to pressure him.”