Japanese jockey Yuichi Fukunaga will ride at Churchill Downs this
weekend before launching a summertime campaign in Southern California,
his agent, Brian Beach, said Tuesday.
Fukunaga, the leading rider at Japan Racing Association tracks in
2011 and this year, is expected to begin riding at Hollywood Park the
week of July 4th. Beach said the 35-year-old Fukunaga completed visa
documents earlier this week. He is scheduled to ride in Southern
California through the end of the Del Mar meeting September 5th, a time
when the Japanese racing season does not have any Grade I races.
Fukunaga is familiar with Hollywood Park. In 2005, he won the Grade
I American Oaks aboard Cesario. A winner of more than 1,400 races,
Fukunaga has been riding since 1996.