Jockey Pennington nears return

Frankie Pennington, a four-time leading jockey at Parx, has pretty much recovered from a fall during his Thanksgiving weekend trip to Kentucky and could be cleared to resume riding later this week, according to his agent, Robert Martel.

Pennington was aboard Diamond King for trainer Butch Reid Jr. in the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs on Nov. 25 when they were put in tight quarters between horses entering the first turn. Diamond King clipped heels, throwing Pennington to the ground. Pennington was kicked in the face and lower back by a trailing horse, John Tippman. He sustained a cut under his eye, back pain, and a ruptured testicle. He was able to crawl under the inner rail before the field galloped out by him after the race.

“He’s itching to get back,” Martel said. “His face is perfect now and his back is good. He had a little back pain last week and he was worried that it might be his kidney, so we went in and had an MRI. Everything was fine.”

Pennington and Martel made a round of the Parx stable area last Friday letting people know he is okay. While Pennington is eager to begin riding again, Martel has tried to convince him not to hurry back.

“I would rather he took off until the new year and didn’t rush,” Martel said. “He’s had a good year and deserves some time off. But that’s not Frankie.”

Despite not having ridden for three weeks, Pennington is 26 wins in front in the Parx rider standings and is assured of his fourth consecutive title and fifth overall. He has 133 wins on the year and his mounts have earned more than $4.8 million.

Martel is now also booking mounts for Paco Lopez at Parx on Mondays and Tuesdays. Cory Moran is Lopez’s agent at Aqueduct.