Leading Rider Carrasco Returns to Races Sunday at Laurel
Leading Rider Carrasco Returns to Races Sunday at Laurel
Eclipse Award Winner Finishes Fifth in First Mount in Nine Months
LAUREL, MD – Following a serious leg injury that kept him away from the races for more than nine months, journeyman jockey Victor Carrasco made his long-awaited return to competition on Father’s Day Sunday at Laurel Park.
Carrasco, 25, the Eclipse Award-winning apprentice of 2013 who has ranked among Maryland’s top riders since his arrival from Puerto Rico in March of that year, finished fifth on Jonathan Maldonado-trained Mythos in Race 5, a $17,000 claiming event for 3-year-olds and up going seven furlongs on the main track.
One race later, Carrasco finished fourth aboard Another Broad for trainer Mike Trombetta in a $33,000 waiver maiden claiming event for fillies and mares 3 and up going six furlongs on the main track.
The races were the first for Carrasco since breaking the fibula and tibia in his right leg in a five-horse spill Sept. 14, 2017 at Delaware Park. The injury required surgery and a lengthy healing and painstaking rehabilitation process that only saw him get back on horses for the first time May 22.
“Right now, I’m feeling very tired. But it’s part of the game, coming from so long not riding but it feels great to be back out there and hear everybody cheering for me and happy to see me. It was good,” Carrasco said. “In the beginning it was very tough. I’m a really active person and I like to run and do this and that and not being able to do anything like that, it kills me. But I stayed positive and worked hard and I have to thank my therapy person. She worked me out and was always willing and cheering for me. It was tough, but we’re here.”
Carrasco is a four-time meet-leading rider in Maryland who ranked second or third in the state by number of wins from 2013-16. He clinched Laurel’s 2017 summer meet title less than a month before he suffered the latest injury in his young career.
A lifetime winner of 833 races and more than $22 million in purse earnings, Carrasco has also missed time with a broken hand in 2015, broken foot in 2016 and fractured shoulder blade last spring.
Also on Sunday’s card, Lucky 7 Stables’ G’s Warrior ($8.20) swept into a contending position on the far outside and chased first-time starter and 3-2 pacesetting favorite Helen through the stretch to get her nose down on the wire and win Race 3, a $33,000 waiver maiden claimer for 2-year-old fillies. Ridden by Xavier Perez, the chestnut daughter of Majestic Warrior ran five furlongs in 59.25 seconds.
Live racing returns to Laurel Park with a 10-race program Friday, June 22 that begins at 1:10 p.m. Five races are scheduled over the world-class turf course, attracting a total of 52 entries, an average of 10.4 starters per race.
