Jockey Espinoza to miss rest of Del Mar meet

DEL MAR, California (AP):

Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza has been moved to a rehabilitation facility to recover from a fractured vertebra in his neck sustained during a training accident.

Agent Brian Beach tweeted yesterday that Espinoza had left the hospital, where he had been up and walking around in the days after being injured last Sunday.

Beach says the 46-year-old rider is "still doing well and is one step closer to going home."

Espinoza was exercising Bobby Abu Dhabi during morning workouts at Del Mar north of San Diego. Track officials said the horse had an apparent heart attack and Espinoza was thrown off. Bobby Abu Dhabi, a 4-year-old horse, died.

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

The jockey will miss the rest of the Del Mar meet that ends September 3.