Santa Anita: Desormeaux to 'test waters' on possible California return

ARCADIA, Calif. – Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, a fixture in Southern California in the 1990s and early 2000s, will ride at Santa Anita on the weekend of Jan. 25-26 with an eye on a possible return to this circuit, he said Thursday.

“I’ll test the waters on the 25th and 26th,” Desormeaux said in a brief phone interview from Florida. “I would move back to California if I think I have the proper business.”

In the last year, Desormeaux has ridden in Florida, Illinois, and Kentucky. He has been based at Gulfstream Park for the last month and was booked to ride there Friday and Saturday. Thursday, Desormeaux said he has been busy working horses.

“I’ve been working my [tail] off,” he said. “I’m working diligently and building business. I’m there every morning unless it’s pouring rain.”

Desormeaux won 11 riding titles in Southern California from 1990 to 1998, but has not ridden regularly on this circuit since early 2006 at Santa Anita. Desormeaux, 43, was inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame in 2004 and has won three Eclipse Awards – as the nation’s outstanding apprentice in 1987 and as the nation’s outstanding rider in 1989 and 1992.

On the weekend of Jan. 25-26, Desormeaux could ride several stakes at Santa Anita. The Jan. 25 races include six stakes ranging in value from $125,000 to $250,000.