DeCarlo eyes mid-March return to riding

When Chris DeCarlo was unseated by his mount, Enchanteresse in the sixth race at Aqueduct last Nov. 19, the jockey thought he was going to be out a few days. An initial misdiagnosis of his injury turned a few days into a few months. On Feb. 25, DeCarlo began getting back on horses in the morning, and now he’s eyeing a mid-March return to the saddle in the afternoon.

DeCarlo said Friday that he is targeting March 14 for his return, though if that is the date, he likely would have to ride at Parx since that is a dark day at Aqueduct.

DeCarlo broke his left leg in that spill but didn’t learn of the break until about a month after the injury.

“My leg was bothering me a month out, so I asked my doctor to do an MRI, and it revealed a break,” DeCarlo said. “I was walking around on a broken leg.”

Later, DeCarlo learned he also had a compression fracture in his back. That also has healed.

“It’s always frustrating when you get hurt. There’s never a right time to get hurt,” DeCarlo said. “I ride mostly grass horses anyway, so the turf season is right around the corner.”

DeCarlo will be returning at about the same time as Junior Alvarado, who underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in December.