Rispoli, injured in January spill at Gulfstream, begins physical therapy

ARCADIA, Calif. - Jockey Umberto Rispoli recently began physical therapy for what is expected to be a lengthy recovery from ankle and leg injuries sustained when he was unseated in a race at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 24.

Rispoli is “taking things by day to day,” his agent, Matt Nakatani, told Santa Anita publicity on Sunday. “He’s finally walking a little bit now. The most important thing is he’s inching forward.”

Rispoli, 37, sustained injuries to an ankle and fibula on Jan. 24 and underwent two surgeries in Florida in the days after the incident. At the time, Rispoli was the leading rider at the current Santa Anita winter-spring meeting with 15 wins. Through Sunday, he ranked in a tie for fifth.

Rispoli was unseated after his mount, Unconquerable Keen, clipped heels in the stretch of the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint.

Last year, Rispoli won 129 races with mounts that earned more than $13.2 million, the highest figure since he moved from Hong Kong to California in late 2019.

In 2025, Rispoli was the regular rider of the 3-year-old Journalism, who won such Grade 1 races as the Preakness Stakes, Haskell Invitational and Santa Anita Derby, and was second in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes to Horse of the Year Sovereignty.

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