Did they have some kind of falling out? Been noticing Smith not riding for Baffert much? I thought Smith might be retiring but he's saying 5 more years!
Talamo and Van Dyke have been riding a lot for Baffert with the result being a few odds-on runners finishing so far back the Hubble telescope can't find them. I can't imagine Talamo keeping that assignment much longer; he sometimes shows flashes of greatness, but he is super inconsistent. Van Dyke is fine I guess if very non-aggressive (which is exactly the opposite way to ride Baffert horses, you send all of them--they never get tired), but you'd think maybe Rosario would pick up the slack. But why opt off Smith, certainly in any analysis one of the very best ever. Any inside info???