Prat, Dettori will be departing California in coming weeks
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ARCADIA, Calif. – The jockey standings at Santa Anita will evolve in coming weeks, at least among the names chasing runaway leader Juan Hernandez.
Through Sunday, Hernandez led all riders with 49 wins, well clear of Flavien Prat (25), Tiago Pereira and Frankie Dettori (21), and Hector Berrios (19).
Prat and Dettori will not remain among the first five for very long. They are scheduled to leave for Kentucky and Britain in the near future, following plans laid out at the beginning of the year.
Prat, the former leading rider in Southern California, is scheduled to ride at Oaklawn Park on Friday through Sunday this weekend, including the Arkansas Derby on Saturday. He will ride at Keeneland on April 7, and at Santa Anita on April 8-9 before returning to Keeneland for the rest of the month, according to his agent, Brad Pegram.
Prat had a similar schedule last year, leaving Southern California to ride in Kentucky in the spring and New York for the majority of the year before returning to California in November.
Dettori, arguably the world’s most recognized jockey, rode at Santa Anita this winter as part of his final year in the saddle. He is scheduled to retire in November.
Dettori is booked to ride at Oaklawn Park on Friday and will ride at Santa Anita on Saturday and Sunday, according to his agent, Ron Anderson. Dettori will ride at Keeneland on April 7 and at Santa Anita on April 8-9 before moving back to his permanent base in Britain.
There is a possibility Dettori could return to the United States to ride the Kentucky Derby on May 6 at Churchill Downs, but he also could be engaged that day to ride the Group 1 English 2000 Guineas at Newmarket Racecourse.
In addition to Joel Rosario, Anderson also represents John Velazquez, who has completed his winter stay at Santa Anita. Velazquez has won 16 races at the current Santa Anita meeting.
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