This week at Los Alamitos Race Course, all the talk is about the man who isn’t there. He’s selfless.”Mendez received the 2024 Sam Thompson Memorial Jockey Award, which annually honors a rider for his career and personal character. “You can’t replace a person like (Mendez),” Flores said. AT SANTA ANITAWtih Rispoli out, Hector Berrios takes the reins on Pony Express, the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday. • Santa Anita postponed the Las Virgenes Stakes for 3-year-old fillies from this Sunday to Sunday, Feb. 8.