Antonio Fresu, one of the leading riders in California, is switching agents.
Fresu will be represented by Ron Anderson starting at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting that kicks off on Dec. 26, Anderson said on Friday.
Fresu, 34, led the standings at the Santa Anita spring meeting from mid-April to mid-June. He finished second in the standings at the Del Mar summer and autumn meetings earlier this year and fifth at the Santa Anita autumn meeting.
The Del Mar autumn meeting ended on Nov. 30, and Fresu is riding in the United Arab Emirates through Dec. 19. He won a listed stakes, the Al Garhoud Sprint, at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on Friday.
Anderson will continue to book mounts for Joel Rosario.
Fresu was previously represented by Tom Knust, who said on Friday that he will book mounts at Santa Anita on behalf of Emisael Jaramillo, who is currently based at Gulfstream Park. Jaramillo, 48, has won 151 races this year through Thursday, the 10th consecutive year he has won more than 100 races. Previously, Jaramillo was a leading rider in Venezuela. He has been based in the United States full-time since 2015.
At the current Gulfstream meeting that began on Nov. 27, Jaramillo was tied for first in the standings through Thursday with Miguel Vasquez. Both had seven wins.
Jaramillo was second at the Gulfstream spring-summer meeting that ended on Aug. 31, and he was third at the track’s summer-fall meeting that ended on Nov. 23.
Knust said Jaramillo will arrive at Santa Anita on Dec. 19 in advance of the track’s opening day.
– additional reporting by David Grening
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