Ricardo Santana Jr., an eight-time leading rider at Oaklawn Park, will return to the Hot Springs, Ark., track for the upcoming winter meet, agent P.J. Campo said Monday.
Santana, who moved his tack to New York last May following Oaklawn, will start riding at Oaklawn when that track opens Dec. 12. With the exception of Dec. 20, when he’ll be at Remington Park, Santana will ride at Oaklawn through Jan. 4. When Oaklawn closes for three weeks in January, Santana plans to ride at Aqueduct before returning to Oaklawn when it resumes its winter season on Jan. 30.
Campo said the combination of uncertainty over New York’s winter schedule and the likelihood of there being more business at Oaklawn were the impetus for the move. Starting in late January, Oaklawn will race four days a week through May 2. Aqueduct has typically raced four days a week in January and February and three days a week in March. Management and horsemen are still negotiating over dates for the 2026 winter season.
“He has clientele there - Mark and Norm Casse, [Steve] Asmussen, [David] Jacobson,” Campo said. “We’re excited to go, he’ll have plenty of support.”
Santana was the leading rider for eight of nine Oaklawn Park meets from 2013 through 2021. In 2019, he finished two wins behind David Cohen, but Santana was the leading rider in purse-money won.
This year, Santana won 38 races at Saratoga, good enough for fourth in the standings. At the Belmont at the Big A fall mee, Santana’s 33 wins tied him with Flavien Prat for second. At the current Aqueduct fall season, he is 8 for 82, fifth in the standings.
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