Hall of Fame jockey recovering after fall at Del Mar racetrack

Kelly Broderick
6:24 PM, Jul 31, 2018
Copyright 2018 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright 2018 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - MARCH 26: Victor Espinoza celebrates after riding California Chrome to victory in the Dubai World Cup Sponsored By Emirates Airline as part of the Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse on March 26, 2016 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

Francois Nel
Copyright 2018 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ENCINITAS, Calif. (KGTV) - One week after a training accident that ended in the death of racehorse Bobby Abu Dhabi, Victor Espinoza is opening up about his recovery. Espinoza, a Hall of Fame jockey, suffered a fractured vertebra when he was thrown from the horse after it went into apparent cardiac arrest in Del Mar. The four-year-old horse died.

"I was just working my normal routine and then just...something just happens," Espinoza said. "So it was a bit of a different accident than what (I've had) over the years." 

The 46-year-old jockey remembers thinking that he might be paralyzed after the July 22 fall. He said his body was numb, and he could only move his right arm.

"The first time I ever cry, (was) when I first started moving my right leg, when I got on the ambulance and then by the time I got to the hospital, I started moving my left leg." 

Scans showed that Espinoza fractured his C3 vertebrae in the accident and had damage to his cerebral artery. Doctors told him that he got lucky.

Copyright 2018 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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