Winter Blues: Leparoux and Bejarano relocate to Southern California

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My picks are up for this weekend's Mrs. Revere Stakes over at the Velocity Blog.
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A major hit to the Kentucky jockey colony as young sensations Rafael Bejarano and Julien Leparoux -- who are tied for second for the Churchill riding title -- will both head to Southern California to race at Hollywood Park and Santa Anita over the winter when the Churchill Downs meet ends later this month.

Bejarano's agent Joe Ferrer said trainer Bobby Frankel offered the 25-year-old first call on his horses and even though he was near the top of the standings in Florida last winter, this offer by Frankel was hard to pass up.

Leparoux, 24, has been the leading rider at Turfway Park for two winters, and had apparently desired to relocate west during the cold months in recent years but was convinced by trainer Patrick Biancone to ride for him at Turfway instead. Biancone is serving a year suspension after snake venom was found in his barn and will be away from racing until next November.

From The Thoroughbred Times:
 

“The reason we’re going is Bobby asked us to,” Ferrer said. “It’s a choice between there or Gulfstream Park. We were at Gulfstream last year and were second in the standings and did $2.6 [million] in purses, but I thought we’d try it [in California]. The money is better. Not that Gulfstream is a bad meeting, but this is a good opportunity. Bobby has good horses that we’ve been riding. In this game, you follow the horses.

Leparoux, the 2006 Eclipse Award winner as leading apprentice jockey, will begin riding at Hollywood on November 25, according to his agent, Steve Bass.

“He’s in the big leagues now and there is no sense in stepping back for the winter,” Bass said. “He needs to go where he can find a good three-year-old for the spring, for the [Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1)], Kentucky Oaks (G1).”

I expect that we'll see both of these jockeys return to Keeneland in April, and then Churchill Downs in May, but I'll admit that I'm a bit jealous (is that the right word) that they'll be riding so far from "home." (See a cheat-sheet of the Kentucky racing schedule at the end of this blog post).

While Bejarano would leave for Florida in years past, for some reason that move had an obvious "temporary" feel (maybe it's the snowbird concept). But with Leparoux being in Kentucky almost all year -- save for a summer trip to Saratoga instead of Ellis -- this move has a more of a "moving out" feel to me. And dare I say it makes me... sad?

I wonder if this is how my parents felt when I left for college.

The rough draft of the racing schedule at Kentucky tracks is:

Turfway: December through March
Keeneland: April
Churchill: Derby week until early July
Ellis Park: 4th of July through August
Turfway: September
Keeneland: October
Churchill: November