Jockey Orozco recovering at home after nasty spill
Jockey Irving Orozco is aiming for an early summer return to riding after sustaining fractured ribs and a punctured lung when he was unseated at Golden Gate Fields on April 29.
Orozco was hospitalized for five days following an incident in which Crazy Dreams sustained a fatal leg injury in the Lost in the Fog Stakes for sprinters. Orozco was under observation at a hospital for blunt chest trauma and broken and bruised ribs.
Earlier this week, Orozco was resting at home, expecting his recovery to last approximately two months. Under that timeline, Orozco could resume riding during the final weeks of the Alameda County Fair at Pleasanton, which concludes on July 9, or the start of the Cal-Expo fair in Sacramento on July 14.
“It’s a lot better than it was the first few days,” he said of his condition. “I’m trying to stay positive.
“As far as the ribs go, that can take four to six weeks. I don’t want to rush anything.”
Orozco said he has started walking for basic exercise. “It keeps the blood flowing,” he said.
Crazy Dreams was racing near the front in the stretch of the six-furlong race when he was injured.
“It was a freak accident,” Orozco said. “Things like that don’t run through a jockey’s mind. He was the best horse I was riding up here.
“I remember turning for home and I had a good feeling. He was going to run a great race. I got the lead at the three-sixteenth pole. I was going to pull out my stick when I really felt something go bad.”
Orozco said he was struck in the chest by the knee of a trailing horse, which he said caused the rib and lung injury.
This is Orozco’s first extended spell on the sidelines since he suffered a lacerated liver and a collapsed lung in October 2018. He did not resume riding until March of 2019.
Orozco has won 844 races in a career that began in late 2011 at Los Alamitos. He has won 601 races at Golden Gate Fields, including six stakes.
At the current Golden Gate Fields meeting that began on Dec. 26, Orozco has 31 wins, ranking seventh in the standings through Sunday.
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