Pedroza doing a fair impression of a top jockey

Calling Martin Pedroza “king of the bullring,” which is his nickname, is a fair assessment. Calling him “king of the fair” might be a better one.

With the 16-day Fairplex Park meet at the Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona headed into the homestretch, Pedroza once again finds himself atop the jockey standings.

With three race days to go -- the $100,000 Pomona Derby is today and the $125,000 Ralph M. Hinds Pomona Invitational Handicap on Sunday -- Pedroza leads Tyler Baze, 29 wins to 27. If the lead holds up, it will be the ninth consecutive riding title for Pedroza, 42, and his 10th overall.

“Martin is by far the most experienced jockey here at this meet,” Richie Silverstein, Pedroza’s jockey agent, said in explaining his client’s success at Fairplex. “Also, he broke in riding the quarter horses on the five-eighth-mile at Los Alamitos [in 1982], and this is now a five-eighth-mile track here.”

The small size is the reason the track is called a bullring.

Pedroza was the leading apprentice jockey at Los Alamitos in 1983, and he was also the leading apprentice at the Santa Anita and Oak Tree meets that year.

So maybe it’s no wonder he has dominated at Fairplex. He is the all-time leader there with 513 wins, hitting the 500 mark in a claiming race Sept. 14. Next best is David Flores with 322 wins.

Pedroza, a graduate of the famous Panama jockey school, has had his moments on the big circuit as well.

He won the riding title at Hollywood Park two years ago with 31 winners, five ahead of runner-up Patrick Valenzuela. In the 1989 Santa Anita Handicap, he rode 50-1 longshot Martial Law to victory.

In 1992 during the Oak Tree meet, he tied a record held by Laffit Pincay Jr. by winning six consecutive races.

Pedroza will again be competing at the Oak Tree meet, which opens Wednesday at Santa Anita on the new Cushion Track.

But he won’t get the quality mounts there he has been getting at Fairplex. There are too many other good jockeys.

Among those who figure to have a good showing at Oak Tree is Michael Baze, winner of the riding title at Del Mar. Another is Joe Talamo, the 17-year-old sensation who was runner-up to Baze at Del Mar.

Another jockey to keep an eye on is 24-year-old Tyler Baze, Michael’s cousin, who had five wins Friday to close to within two of Pedroza. He finished seventh in the jockey standings at Del Mar and his performance at Fairplex is an indication that he has put some health and personal issues behind him. Tyler Baze also has a new agent, Ronnie Ebanks, who is also Talamo’s agent. Baze was the nation’s champion apprentice in 2000 and won the riding title at Hollywood Park in 2004.

There will be an open house Sunday at Santa Anita after the morning workouts at 10 a.m. Fans will be invited to walk on the new Cushion Track. Hall of Fame jockeys Julie Krone and Pincay will be on hand to answer questions about the new track, and Pincay will autograph free copies of his DVD, “Laffit, All About Winning.”

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larry.stewart@latimes.com