By Bill Finley
Out since Mar. 26 when he broke his left ankle in an incident prior to a race at Gulfstream, Tyler Gaffalione will be back on July 16.
Gaffalione was shaken up during the post parade of the claiming event for 3-year-old fillies when his mount, China Blue (Social Inclusion), acted up and pinned his leg against the rail.
The surprise is not that he is coming back, but where he will be riding after resuming his career. His agent Matt Muzikar said that Gaffalione will ride the meet at Ellis Park and will try to ride some at Saratoga on Ellis dark days.
“We're all set for Ellis and will be coming in and out of town at Saratoga,” Muzikar said. “With him coming back at this particular time, I think it is the best fit for him. I'm trying to keep him from getting too excited. He is chomping at the bit. There will be a lot of Kentucky outfits that send horses to Saratoga, so, hopefully, he'll pick up some of those mounts.”
Gaffalione, with Dylan Davis, tied for third in last year's Spa standings with 36 winners. But the purses at Ellis Park have risen so much that Gaffalione may be better off financially riding there versus Saratoga. NYRA continues to lose jockeys to the Kentucky tracks. Luis Saez and Jose Ortiz, who were year-round staples at the NYRA tracks for years, will ride at Saratoga, but each has become a regular rider on the Kentucky and Fair Grounds circuits.
Ellis Park announced recently that its maiden races would go for $100,000. Most Saratoga maidens also have purses of $100,000.
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