Bejarano set for racing return

Jockey Rafael Bejarano, sidelined since Aug. 25 with a broken rib, was scheduled to return to action Wednesday night at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky.

The comeback means that Bejarano, the ninth-leading jockey in North America this year with more than $8.8 million in mount earnings, will be available to ride in the Sept. 30 Kentucky Cup series, easily the richest day of the 22-day Turfway fall meet.

Bejarano, 23, incurred the rib injury in an Aug. 14 spill at Saratoga, but he continued to ride for 11 more days until he could no longer ride without pain.

Joe Ferrer remains Bejarano's agent, but Julio Espinoza will be assisting Ferrer for several days, until Ferrer returns to the local area. Espinoza said Wednesday that Bejarano had not yet returned to riding horses in the mornings but had been "working out and is feeling good."