Santana back in saddle today at Oaklawn
It’s back to work for Ricardo Santana Jr. today at Oaklawn Park, his return to the saddle coinciding with Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C.
Oaklawn’s four-time defending jockey champion sat out the first five days of the current meeting under a 2016 suspension issued by Oaklawn stewards. Santana faced a 21-day ban but had it reduced to 15 days after reaching an agreement with the Arkansas Racing Commission.
The 24-year-old jockey is named on six horses today, including two for trainer Ron Moquett, whose six winners after four days led the Oaklawn standings, and another for Hall of Fame trainer and seven-time local champion Steve Asmussen, for whom Santana won three Oaklawn stakes last year.
Santana hasn’t ridden since a fourth-place finish aboard Dynamo in the $300,000 Classico Internacional del Caribe Stakes Dec. 11 in Puerto Rico.
Santana had numerous brushes with track stewards last year during his most successful of four Oaklawn seasons, winning 80 races and setting a track record for purse earnings ($4,064,073). He earned his first Grade 1 victory aboard the Asmussen-trained Creator in the $1 million Arkansas Derby, joining retired Hall of Famer Pat Day as the only jockeys to win four consecutive riding titles at Oaklawn (Day won the Oaklawn title 12 years in a row, 1983-94, setting a meet record with 137 victories in 1986).
“I think he’ll be more mindful,” said Ruben Munoz, Santana’s agent. “I think the important thing is it’s OK to be aggressive without putting people in danger. There’s one thing being aggressive and another thing being reckless. I don’t think he was reckless, I really don’t.”
Santana made an impressive Saratoga debut with 14 winners for ninth place in the standings at the historic upstate New York track. There, he received instruction from Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez and retired Hall of Fame rider Ramon Dominguez.
“I can’t believe how good I did there,” said Santana. “I learned a lot. I was really happy with myself. Everybody was happy with me.”
Munoz, who lived with Santana during the Saratoga meeting, said, “I think partly what happened here, he needed to have some different exposure than what he was used to. He needed some type of change, to be around the best. Having Johnny and Ramon Dominguez there regularly with him, I knew could only help.”
Munoz said Santana plans to campaign at Saratoga again this year after riding at Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week and New York at the Belmont Park spring/ summer meeting. Santana tied for the riding title at the September 2014 Churchill meeting.
“Right now, it’s going to be Saratoga every year,” said Munoz. “I love Saratoga. I love being there. He was working every day. We were busy every day. The reception was great, and he was able to get people’s attention.”
Originally from Panama, Santana has 290 career victories at Oaklawn since 2011 — two years after he began riding in the United States. According to Equibase, he has 788 victories and $30,408,640 in purse earnings.
“I don’t want to be in a hurry,” Santana said. “I don’t want to push myself. Whatever happens, happens.”
Lake Catherine: Shane Goodner, Catch’em All Guide Service, said rainbow trout are plentiful in the tailrace from the dam to the bridge with thousands of fish thriving in the nutrient-rich water. Thousands more trout are scheduled to be stocked this month, making fishing opportunities excellent for area anglers.
Fly fishermen are able to access areas that hold good numbers of trout and are recording limits by casting microjigs in black or white colors with a strike indicator. Olive-colored Woolly Buggers and black midges have taken trout in the 15-inch class. Egg patterns in yellow or white often will draw strikes from finicky fish that refuse other offerings. Bank fishermen have done well on live-bait presentations such as waxworms and meal worms, redworms, crickets and small live minnows. Spin fishermen have accounted for the largest trout caught in the last several weeks by using Super Dupers and Rooster Tails in white or silver coloring. Shad killed in freezing temperatures provide large amounts of food for all the tailrace gamefish and should be imitated by anglers serious about catching numbers of rainbow trout. No reports of stripers or white bass caught near the dam, although this can change with more trout stockings.
Lake conditions: 48 degrees below Carpenter Dam, clear in tailrace.
Lake Ouachita: Todd Gadberry, Mountain Harbor Resort, said black bass are fair and being caught with pig-n-jigs fished near brush 12-25 feet deep or on lipless crankbaits. Stripers are fair on live bait or trolling jigs in the central area of the lake.
Crappie are fair using minnows or crappie jigs around 15-20 feet deep near brush. No reports on walleye, bream or catfish.
Lake conditions: 44-50 degrees, clear, 569.86 feet msl (full pool 578 feet msl).
Lake Hamilton: Darryl Morris, Family Fishing Trips, reported catching black, white and yellow bass on spoons 35-45 feet deep. Crappie are reported biting around docks, and Morris said he planned to check crappie on brush piles at midweek.
DeGray Lake: Local angler George Graves said the only winter fishing is up lake between Point 24 and Cox creek.
Bass fishing is good in the Shouse Ford-Point Cedar areas with medium-running crankbaits, both lipped and lipless, worked across secondary points in creeks and big coves. Because the water is stained in these area, include some chartreuse coloring in the lure. Some nice Kentucky bass are being caught on 4-inch finesse worms rigged Texas style in green pumpkin and red shad coloring.
Crappie fishing is good in the upper end of the lake around brush attractors on points in the main lake at 20-28 feet. Drop a 2-inch tube lure vertically on a 16th-ounce jighead just below the top of the brush, preferably colored black with a chartreuse tail and including a crappie nibble. Crappie anglers report a few big bream taking redworms or crickets on a No. 8 hook in a brush pile and sometimes on the edge of the attractor.
Lake conditions: high 40s, clear to Point 14 and stained farther upstream, 402.78 feet msl (flood pool 408 feet msl).