HOT SPRINGS -- The count is up to three.
Trouble that led to a suspension of racing at Santa Anita Park last season helped multiple graded-stakes winning jockey Tyler Baze decide to make Oaklawn Racing his home-away-from-home for the winter and spring.
At least two more Santa Anita riders made the move last month: Joe Talamo and Martin Garcia will join Baze at Oaklawn this season, which begins Friday.
Talamo and Garcia both have mounts in the 1-mile, $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes, the opening-day feature and the first of four races at Oaklawn this season to offer Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Baze, away for a friend's wedding in Mexico, plans to arrive for Saturday's card, when he is set to ride in six of the nine races.
Baze, an avid outdoorsman, said he was sold on Oaklawn after no more than two weeks on the racetrack and a few outings on Hot Springs' nearby lakes.
Last season, as Baze walked from the track and up the steps from Oaklawn's paddock to the jockey room, after he had ridden Fight On to a photo-finish victory in the $150,000 Fifth Season Stakes, he paused to say he might return for the 2020 season.
"I really do like this place," said Baze, still dirt-spattered from the race. "The people around here are so nice. I'll probably be back next year because I love it here. I love this town, this area."
Baze, 37, who has lived in the California for 20 years and is married with three children, first arrived at Oaklawn in early March last season, shortly after Santa Anita suspended racing after a total of 21 horses had been injured on its track and subsequently euthanized over the previous three months, a run of trouble that persisted when the track was reopened. Three racehorses died at Santa Anita over the weekend, bringing the total of equine deaths to 42 in 13 months.
Baze said he hopes to return to Oaklawn for the foreseeable future.
"I hope to be there for at least the next couple of years," he said. "I don't really know if Oaklawn and the whole Kentucky circuit will be my long-term future yet, but I definitely love Arkansas. I had a great time there last year. There are good people there, and I rode for a lot of good people, and I'm just excited about the season."
Talamo, who rode California Flag to victory in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, and Garcia, winner aboard Lookin at Lucky in the 2010 Preakness Stakes, each had lockers next to Baze's at Santa Anita.
"Our corner in the jocks room in California was me, Talamo, and Martin Garcia," Baze said. "Our whole corner is going to be at Oaklawn. Everybody's excited."
Garcia's mounts earned from $7-15 million a season from 2010 through 2015, but those figures have since dropped. His mounts earned $2.8 million last season. Garcia said his agent Jay Fedor recommended he move his tack to the Midwestern circuit, which includes Oaklawn.
"My agent is great," Garcia said. "This was his idea, and I trust him very much."
Garcia has flown in to ride stakes races at Oaklawn for years, and he said he already feels the excitement he remembered from his previous trips.
"It's always good to ride here," Garcia said. "So many people show up for the races, and you don't get that many places. It helps. It's just like if you go to a game. If no one comes, it wouldn't be much fun, but with so many people cheering and making so much noise, it's really different."
California-based jockey Mike Smith, a member of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, said he would recommend Oaklawn to any rider.
"I talked to Tyler about it last year when he went," Smith said. "I told him it would be a great move because he would meet some new people, and it would be a great place to ride. I absolutely love it there. It's one of my favorite tracks of all time. With Joe Talamo and Martin Garcia also going there, both very talented guys, Oaklawn's going to have a strong group of riders, I'll tell you that."
Baze said his move was encouraged by one of his uncles, Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, who spent his final two seasons at Oaklawn before injuries forced him to retire, and Smith.
"Last year was the first time I had tried a different track and another opportunity," Baze said. "I'm really looking forward to the new surroundings and a new circuit. You know, Kentucky is the horse-racing capitol of the world, and Arkansas is right there with it. You just feel the vibe there from the people who enjoy it. People are actually excited to go to the races there, and I don't think I've been more excited to go to work ever before."
Sports on 01/21/2020