Joel Rosario, sidelined since suffering a hairline rib fracture when unseated in a race Dec. 2 at Aqueduct Racetrack, is scheduled to resume riding Jan. 14 at his winter base of Oaklawn Park, agent Ron Anderson said Dec. 22.
Anderson had initially been hopeful that Rosario could heal in time to ride opening day at Santa Anita Park Dec. 26, when the California track stages graded six stakes, but the rider's return was pushed back. The jockey had been within range of several calendar-year records related to earnings, stakes victories, and graded stakes victories.
The current timetable gives Rosario six weeks to recover from his injury, coincidentally putting him back riding races on his 37th birthday.
"He's good. He's an extremely fit individual," Anderson said. "He takes care of his body big time. If it were you or I, it would probably be eight weeks or 10 weeks."
A native of the Dominican Republic, Rosario is considered the front-runner to win the Eclipse Award for outstanding jockey of 2021, concluding the year with 228 victories from 1,083 mounts with his horses making $32,944,478, the latter figure highest among riders. Irad Ortiz Jr., champion jockey of 2018-20, is second by earnings with $29,274,435 in 2021. He is also out of action for the remainder of the year while he serves a 30-day suspension for careless riding.
