Almost 4 1/2 months after being injured in an accident laurel parkJourneyman Victor Carrasco returned to racing on March 19.
On the way to the jocks room @LaurelPark .
Blessed to be doing what I love most again. Super grateful and appreciative of those who have supported me and wished me well over the past four and a half months of recovery.
🙏🏾🏇🏽❤️👽
— Victor R Carrasco (@VCarrasco28) March 19, 2023
Carrasco, 30, finished sixth aboard the Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds Library of Congress a first-time starter for trainer Graham Motion, in Race 6, a seven-mile first claim for 3-year-olds.
Carrasco is a four-time Maryland racer and winner of the 2013 Eclipse Award as Champion Apprentice. The mountain was his first in 150 days since the eve of the 2022 Jim McKay Maryland Million. He was injured when his horse Hooky Player walked toward the wire in the Oct. 21 opener in Laurel.
“I had a dislocated left thumb. It was pretty bad,” said Carrasco. “I didn’t know it would take me so long to get back to where I am now. The doctor said that my thumb was dislocated in the main joint and that’s why it took me longer than we expect to come back.
“They gave me two options. They said we can put a screw on your thumb, but you’re going to have to have the screw for the rest of your life. Or we can take your own string from your forearm and wrap your thumbs with your own string. But it will be a longer recovery. I’m sure with a needle I could have been back in eight to 12 weeks,” he added. “It was quite challenging. I never thought I would need my left thumb as much as I did when I was injured .”
Carrasco finished seventh overall in Maryland in 2022 with 61 wins from 376 mounts and $3.133 million in purses earned. Jockey Kevin Gomez, who broke his collarbone in the same accident, returned to riding January 6.
After receiving approval from his doctors, Carrasco began boarding horses for Motion Tampa Bay Downs before returning to Maryland, where he is represented by Agent Scotty Silver.
“(My thumb) feels good. I wanted to test it in warm weather before getting into cold weather just to make sure I was 100 percent fit,” Carrasco said. “It was great. I started getting on horses for Graham. Jesse Cruz put me on one. I went back to Fair Hill and Laurel and things were pretty much back to normal, working for the same outfits and trying to get back in shape.”
The content and style of this press release were edited by the staff of BloodHorse.
