SPORTS

Injured jockey Victor Espinoza plans a return to riding

The Associated Press Published Friday, September 21, 2018 1:12AM EDT

American Pharoah gallops past the grandstand with Victor Espinoza up after crossing the finish line to win the 147th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race at Belmont Park, Saturday, June 6, 2015, in Elmont, N.Y. American Pharoah is the first horse to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed won it in 1978. (AP / Julio Cortez)

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ARCADIA, Calif. -- Triple Crown-winning jockey Victor Espinoza is planning a comeback after fracturing a vertebra in his neck during a training accident at Del Mar.

That's according to his agent Brian Beach, who says Thursday that Espinoza is expected to see a doctor the first week in October to find out how he is progressing in his recovery from the July 22 accident.

Beach says Espinoza has remained in San Diego, where he goes to rehab sessions three days a week and goes walking three times a day. The 46-year-old Hall of Fame jockey only wears a neck brace when he rides in a car. He isn't allowed to drive himself yet.

Beach says Espinoza has a "bright outlook" but is frustrated at times because he has been nearly injury-free his entire career and never faced anything this serious.

Espinoza rode American Pharoah to a Triple Crown sweep in 2015.