Gaffalione to return from injury at Ellis Saturday

For the second time this month, Eclipse Award finalist Tyler Gaffalione plans to return from an extended injury layoff and ride at Ellis Park beginning Saturday.

Gaffalione, of three finalists for champion jockey in 2024, broke his ankle in late March at Gulfstream Park. He was named to ride seven horses on opening day of the Ellis Park meeting on July 3, but Gaffalione removed himself from those mounts and the horses he’d been named on the rest of the racing week, saying he didn’t feel quite ready to ride races.

Two-and-a-half weeks later, Gaffalione really is ready, his agent Matt Muzikar said in a Tuesday text message. Gaffalione is booked to ride five horses Saturday, six on Sunday, and seven Monday. Sunday, he rides Banishing as one of the favorites in the Jeff Hall Memorial Stakes.

Gaffalione, Muzikar said earlier this month, intends to ride regularly at Ellis and make trips to Saratoga for key mounts the rest of the summer.

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