Talamo splits from Ebanks, hires McClellan

Jockey Joe Talamo has changed agents, leaving Ron Ebanks for Scott McClellan.

The 17-year-old Talamo, who made a splash at Fair Grounds last winter when

capturing the riding crown with 115 wins, switched his tack to Southern

California this past March and has made a dramatic impact.

Under the direction of Ebanks, Talamo won 68 races as an apprentice at

Hollywood Park's spring/summer meet and was second behind Michael Baze in the

overall standings. Recently, Ebanks had also been representing Tyler Baze, who

finished second to Garrett Gomez during the Hollywood meet that concluded

Saturday.

"I was surprised and felt blindsided by this news on Monday," Ebanks told

HRTV on Friday. "It's a big letdown, because I tried to do the best I could and

treated Joe as a father figure, but apparently, it wasn't good enough."

Ebanks, who has been an agent since 1988, will continue to represent Baze.

"He's a fabulous young man to work for," Ebanks said of the 25-year-old

rider. "His business is very strong. He's hard-working, and I couldn't see

dropping him for Talamo. I couldn't have done that to either rider. Everyone has

a right to his decision, and I wish nobody no harm."

McClellan, who will continue to book mounts for long-time client Alex Solis,

said Talamo called him Thursday and asked him to take his book.

"How do you turn down a kid like this?" McClellan said. "Ron did a great job

for him, but it was a business conflict, and Joe thought it was in his best

interests to make a change. Alex was great about it. He's a class act and knows

I'll continue to work hard for him."

Talamo's best mounts this year include multiple

Grade 1 heroine Nashoba's Key (Silver Hawk), and he is considered the favorite

to win the Eclipse Award for leading apprentice jockey in 2007.