Jockey Luzzi cleared to return following injury

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Jockey Mike Luzzi, severely injured in a paddock accident at Aqueduct last November, has been cleared by doctors to return to the saddle, Luzzi said Friday.

Luzzi, 45, has been getting on horses in the mornings for the last few days and hopes to return to race-riding in the near future.

“When somebody gives me a mount, I’ll accept it,” said Luzzi, who has ridden 3,420 races since his career began in 1988 and was the Eclipse Award-winning apprentice of 1989.

Luzzi broke his leg in two places and his pelvis in five places in an accident in the Aqueduct paddock last Nov. 2, when his scheduled mount, Tricky Zippy, reared and fell on him. Luzzi underwent multiple surgeries to repair the leg and pelvis.

“There was a point early on when I thought I wouldn’t make it back,” Luzzi said. “But after doing physical therapy, I thought I would make it back. Since February, I thought I could do it.”