Joel Rosario, sidelined since fracturing his ribs while shirtless during a race on December 2 at Aqueduct race track, is scheduled to resume on January 14 at his winter base in Oaklawn Park, special agent Ron Anderson said on December 22.
Anderson had originally hoped that Rosario could heal in time to ride on opening day at Santa Anita . Park December 26, when the races in California classified six places, but the driver’s return was delayed. The horse racing game has been within the range of several records over the calendar year in regards to earnings, bet wins and rank bet wins.
The current timetable gives Rosario six weeks to recover from an injury, which coincidentally puts him back in the races on his 37th birthday.
“He’s good. He’s an extremely suitable person,” Anderson said. “He takes care of his body for the big time. If it were you or me, it would probably be eight weeks or 10 weeks.”
A native of the Dominican Republic, Rosario is considered the runner-up to win the Eclipse Award for Driver of the Year 2021, ending the year with 228 wins from 1,083 rides with a run of $32,944,478 , the latter number is the highest among the racers. Irad Ortiz Jr., 2018-20 cycling champion, is second in earnings with $29,274,435 in 2021. He also takes a break from racing for the rest of the year during his suspension. 30 days ban for careless driving.
