Many consider the riding colony assembled for the Oaklawn Park meet that opened last weekend one of the deepest in recent memory. The lineup of more than 40 jockeys includes such prominent names as Luis Saez, Joel Rosario, Rafael Bejarano, Ricardo Santana Jr., and Jaime Torres. Heading into the second week of the meet, Ramon Vazquez and Cristian Torres sat atop the local standings with five wins each, while Francisco Arrieta is hot on their heels with four wins. The men have all been dominant players the last several years at Oaklawn. The ranks this meet include an influx of young talent, too. Apprentices Amanda Poston and Amir Mendoza each won races last Sunday. Mendoza’s win on Bright Spark was his first U.S. victory, agent Jose Santos Jr. said. Mendoza is a 21-year-old native of Panama who has won 35 races in his home country. He made his way to the United States during the last few weeks of Churchill. Apprentice Ronnie Huckaby is another fresh face gathering interest after winning 22 races at Prairie Meadows. :: Live racing action at Oaklawn Park! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Johan Rosado is a 27-year-old journeyman from Puerto Rico who is new on the scene and getting good support from horsemen across the board. He is the son of an accomplished jockey in Roberto Rosado. “He’s a great kid,” agent Ruben Munoz said. “He was riding in Pennsylvania and Laurel recently, and I think he’s just one of those jocks who is an amazing talent, but that has never been given an opportunity. I brought in Ricardo Santana, Ramon Vazquez, Cristian Torres and Gabe Saez [in the past] and I wasn’t going to come back. When Ramon Dominguez called me and recommended this kid, and he’s been referred to me by other people that I trust, I couldn’t refuse the opportunity. I’m excited.” The card Sunday includes an appearance by the New York-based Christopher Elliott, the son of Stewart Elliott of Smarty Jones fame. Christopher Elliott is in the region visiting family – his father finished up riding the Remington Park meet Saturday – over the NYRA break, Santos said. Remington’s completion brings David Cabrera to Oaklawn, where he is a past title winner. He, too, is named on horses Sunday. Vazquez won the title at Remington. Keith Asmussen, who has been a force in the standings at Oaklawn, had been sidelined by injury the last several weeks but has just received clearance from his doctors to start getting back on horses, he said. He will do so at Oaklawn. Asmussen’s brother Erik, who ranked among the top riders at Remington, is named on horses Sunday at Oaklawn. Alfredo Triana Jr., also is in from Remington. Tyler Bacon, who had a breakout meet last season at Oaklawn, has returned for the new meet, while Abel Cedillo also is back after making his presence felt over the final week of the last meet. Assael Espinoza has invaded from California, while the local lineup also includes Eswan Flores and Fernando Jara. Adding further depth to the local ranks are Manny Esquivel, Luis Quinonez, and Kelsi Harr. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.