Fresu Leaving California to Ride in New York

Jockey Antonio Fresu's tenure at Del Mar and in Southern California is coming to an end. At the conclusion of the summer meet at the seaside oval, Fresu plans to pack up his gear and move his tack to the East Coast and join the jockey colony at the new Belmont Park. He leaves behind a path of success that includes a couple of riding titles up at Santa Anita, a pair of victories aboard Motorious in the G3 Green Flash at Del Mar, and several other graded stakes wins including the G2 San Diego and the G2 Pat O'Brien. This is Fresu's fourth year riding at Del Mar and it didn't take him long to establish himself as one of the better, most consistent riders at the seaside oval. His best year at Del Mar, summer and fall meets combined, was 2024 when he won 52 races and $4,120,736 in earnings. Overall, through Friday's racing, Fresu had won 165 races at Del Mar and $12,458,374. "Del Mar is a great place," Fresu says. "One of my favorites. It's just unique. It's close to my heart. I always felt like home when I was here. The place is amazing. I had a great time. I never managed to win a title here but I was always there." Fresu notched runner-up finishes in the summer meet jockey standings in 2023, '24 and '25. This year he sits in third place with 20 wins. Fresu has 14 stakes victories at Del Mar with just under two weeks to go in the summer meet. Six of those were graded stakes. Two of those are among his favorites. "One was the (2024) San Diego with Dr. Venkman," Fresu recalls. "It was also special with the Pat O'Brien with Raging Torrent a couple of years ago." He also won the 2024 G1 Santa Anita Derby with Stronghold, punching his ticket to his first and only Kentucky Derby. They would run a respectable seventh that year. Fresu has also enjoyed success in the Breeders' Cup with second place finishes in both the 2024 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf with Iron Man Cal and the Turf Sprint with Motorious at the seaside oval. He came close again in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar with Mr. A.P., falling a length short to Ted Noffey. Fresu's agent Ron Anderson told the Daily Racing Form they are heading back east for more opportunities. "Looking for greener pastures." The likable 36-year-old rider, a native of Italy, will be missed by his fellow riders and the people he made friends with in his four years at Del Mar. When asked if he might come back for the summer meet at Del Mar next year, Fresu laughed and said, "I don't know. That's too far."