Frustrated Santos Will Return to New York

Jockey Jose Santos, national money-winning leader from 1986 to 1989, said Friday that he will return to New York, beginning at Belmont Park on Wednesday.

Santos will leave after Sunday’s card at Hollywood Park. He had 19 winners through 58 days of the meeting going into Friday night’s card. Two of those victories came in stakes, but Santos expected to be much more successful when he arrived from New York for the 1990 Hollywood fall meeting.

“It’s a tough decision for me,” Santos said. ‘My business here is not so good. I still have a home back there. I had a chance to meet some nice people here. People like Roger Stein, Eddie Gregson, Bobby Frankel and Charlie Whittingham. I was very happy to ride for them.

“Who knows, in a couple of years maybe I’ll come back. Maybe next time it will be a different situation. It’s tough . . . my wife’s a little bit upset, we really enjoyed it here. But I think it’d probably take me another year (to become a leading winner), and I don’t think I have that much patience.”