By Tom Luicci/Monmouth Park
Samy Camacho, Monmouth Park’s second-leading rider and the leading jockey at Tampa Bay Downs each of the past three years, said he will be sidelined “four to six weeks” with a right shoulder separation suffered in a spill on July 2 at the Jersey Shore track.
Camacho has 121 wins overall this year, 29 at Monmouth Park.
Also injured in the spill was jockey Jorge Luis Gonzalez, who said he suffered a stable fracture of his L3 vertebrae from the incident that could sideline him four to six weeks as well.
“I’m home resting, taking my time to get better soon,” Camacho said by phone from his home in New Port Richey, Fla. “It’s a separation of the anterior joint of my right shoulder. The specialist said it all depends on how quickly I heal but he thinks I will be out four to six weeks.”
Camacho hit the turf in the fourth race when his mount, Bingo’s Girl, could not avoid a fallen Momma’s Kim and Gonzalez. Momma’s Kim went down after clipping heels with Gold Alliance, who drifted out at the three-eighths mark of the five-furlong grass event for 2-year-old fillies.
The 35-year-old Camacho, who hails from Caracas, Venezuela, said he is not frustrated “because I’m with my family and spending time with my wife and (four) kids.”
“The same thing happened to me in 2017, except it was the left shoulder that time. This time it’s the right shoulder,” he said.
His future riding plans depend on how quickly he recovers.
“If I can’t get back until September I will probably go to Gulfstream and wait for Tampa to start,” said Camacho, who has won four of the past five riding titles at Tampa Bay Downs. “If I can be back sometime in August I will probably come back to Monmouth Park to finish the meet.
“But if it’s later than August I will probably just go to Gulfstream. I want to come back as soon as possible but I want to make sure I am 100 percent first.”
Monmouth Park’s meet ends on Sept. 10.
Gonzalez, who has five wins from 42 starts at the Monmouth meet, initially did not think he had suffered any injuries in the spill and even rode Bayou Shack to a second-place finish two races later. X-rays taken late last Sunday revealed the fracture.
