Report: Injured jockey Cedillo does not have return date yet
Still recovering from a neck injury three weeks ago that became a flashpoint for racetrack safety, jockey Abel Cedillo does not have a target date for a return to riding.
“I think I’ll miss Del Mar,” Cedillo told Daily Racing Form writer Steve Andersen on Monday, adding that a follow-up visit with a doctor late this month might determine whether he could start physical therapy. Shortly after the spill, it was reported Cedillo would not need surgery.
Flashback: Spills raise concerns from Jockeys’ Guild.
In the days following the July 23 racing accident that left him with a broken bone in his neck, Cedillo also told DRF that it was a mistake for the gate crew to rescue him rather than emergency-medical technicians who had not been given the go-ahead from stewards to attend to him. Had Cedillo not been moved, the ongoing race would have to have been stopped, because it would have gone another lap past the point where he fell.
“Three things could have led to a catastrophe at Del Mar,” Jockeys’ Guild CEO Terry Meyocks told Horse Racing Nation last month. “One, the stewards that are employed by the (California Horse Racing Board) didn’t make a determination to cancel the race or not. Two, the paramedics froze, because they didn’t know what to do. And three, the starter didn’t know what to do because the stewards didn’t cancel the race, the paramedics froze, and there was going to be another catastrophe. Still, three wrongs don’t make a right.”
A native of Guatemala who moved his tack to the U.S. in 2009, Cedillo, 34, has won nine riding titles, including three at Golden Gate Fields, two in fall meets at Del Mar, one in an autumn meet at Santa Anita and three at Los Alamitos. He has won five Grade 1 races, most notably with Maximum Security in the 2020 Pacific Classic.
Get the Gold, the maiden, 3-year-old colt Cedillo was riding when he clipped heels with a rival last month, has had three timed workouts for trainer Kristin Mulhall since the accident, according to Equibase.