Espinoza relocating back to California

The lure of mild January weather led Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza to return to his former base at Santa Anita this winter.

“Back East, it got too cold for me,” Espinoza said recently. “I can’t deal with the cold weather. I never got along with the cold, even when I started my career.”

Espinoza is attempting to reestablish himself among a competitive group of jockeys in California after a few quiet years for him. Espinoza, 53, has not won 100 or more races since 2014 when he won 102.

Last year, Espinoza won nine races from 77 mounts – with two victories at Keeneland, Monmouth Park, and Santa Anita and one each at Kentucky Downs, Saratoga and Woodbine. He had his last mount of the year at Woodbine in early November.

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Already this year, Espinoza has won twice with seven mounts. He has two mounts on Saturday’s program at Santa Anita, but is not booked to ride on Friday or Sunday. He intends to ride in California for the foreseeable future.

“I’m trying to win a race,” he said. “I’ll try for the whole year and see how it goes.”

Espinoza has won 3,528 races in the United States and Canada. He has won the Kentucky Derby three times with War Emblem (2002), the immensely popular California Chrome (2014), and American Pharoah (2015). American Pharoah swept the Triple Crown, which increased Espinoza’s profile. He even appeared on “Dancing With The Stars” in 2015.

Espinoza was sidelined from July 2018 until February 2019 after sustained a spinal injury in an accident in a morning workout at Del Mar. Espinoza was hospitalized in the weeks after the accident and went through months of physical therapy and exercise before he returned.

In 2019, Espinoza won 45 races, a figure that has declined annually in recent years. He relocated to Saratoga last summer for a change of venue, and to ride for different stables.

“It was new to go back East to New York and Kentucky,” he said. “I had never moved out of California.”

This month at Santa Anita, Espinoza won a maiden race on the promising 3-year-old Dark Omen on Jan. 10 and won a $25,000 claimer on turf last Sunday on 18-1 Mars Magic.

“We only need the right horse to win a race,” Espinoza said.

While Espinoza says he thinks of retiring, the day is not near.

“Every day I think about retirement,” he said. “It’s always on my mind. I feel like it’s not time yet.

“It’s one of those things you have to have that feeling overnight. That’s it. Everything comes to an end. I’m aware of that.”

Espinoza only has to look across the jockey’s room to 59-year-old colleague Mike Smith, or 54-year-old John Velazquez, who rides occasionally in California, for inspiration.

“Those are the ones that put pressure on me,” Espinoza said with a laugh. “When are you guys going to quit? They motivate me to continue riding.”

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