Injured Espinoza now hoping to return Dec. 26 at Santa Anita

ARCADIA, Calif. – Jockey Victor Espinoza is still hoping to return to riding, and now has targeted the beginning of the Santa Anita winter meeting on Dec. 26 for his comeback, his agent, Brian Beach, said Friday morning.

Espinoza has been out of action since early in the Del Mar meeting, when he was seriously injured in a training accident when the sprinter Bobby Abu Dhabi died. Beach said Espinoza was desirous of returning by the end of October, but doctors want him to wait.

“He saw the doctors this week – a neurologist and a neurosurgeon – and while they were happy with his progress, he’s not quite there yet,” Beach said. “He had a spine injury. They want him to continue what he’s doing, but change things up, do things that are more intense.

“He still wants to ride. The doctors want to see his progress. He had a serious injury, and it was a close call to it being even more serious.”