Top Churchill riders prepare to decamp for winter destinations

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – They’ll scatter like dust in the wind when the Churchill Downs lights are dimmed following the 12th race Sunday. Horsemen and other racetrack affiliates with Florida, Louisiana, or Arkansas as their next stop will pack their bags in an end-of-November ritual long familiar in these parts.

Most of the top Churchill jockeys now make their permanent home in Louisville, so the end of the 21-day fall meet Sunday means most will be sleeping in a different bed for much of the next four months. Joe Rocco Jr. will be taking an outbound highway less traveled when spending the winter in New York.

“I’m going to Aqueduct,” said Rocco, who was born in Florida but grew up mostly in Maryland. “Except for summers in Saratoga, I haven’t ridden [on a regular basis] in New York since I was a bug boy [in 1999 and 2000]. I thought I’d change things up and give it a try.”

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Rocco, who rode at Oaklawn Park the last three winters, will have Jason Beides as his agent. He isn’t the only Kentucky rider diverting from his usual winter schedule: Chris Landeros will ride at Gulfstream Park in Florida, where his father-in-law, trainer Ian Wilkes, will be active; while Corey Lanerie is returning to his Louisiana roots after five winters at Gulfstream.

Lanerie, who turned 43 earlier this month, once again was the dominant rider here this fall. Into Friday action, his 30 winners were double that of his closest pursuer atop the jockey standings, Julien Leparoux (15), as he was well on his way to earning a Churchill riding title for the 15th time in the last 17 meets.

Lanerie has mounts in each of the two allowances that serve as nominal co-features late on the 12-race Sunday finale. He’ll climb aboard Conquest Windycity in race 10, a $65,000 second-level mile, after which he’ll ride Lovin Empire in race 11, a $62,000 first-level turf mile. Both races drew big fields.

First post Sunday is 1 p.m. Eastern, with the last few races to be run under the lights.

◗ Into Friday, field size at the fall meet was averaging 8.7 horses per race, and favorites were winning at a 25 percent clip (47 for 185).