Castellano to Have Hip Surgery, Will Miss 6-8 Weeks

For Javier Castellano, bringing down the curtain on 2020 was not a hard decision at all.

The 43-year-old Hall of Fame jockey has scheduled arthroscopic surgery on his right hip for Nov. 16 that will sideline him for the remainder of a year that has mixed the highs of winning eight grade 1 stakes with the low of being quarantined for an asymptomatic case of coronavirus in March.

"I've been blessed to win some very nice races this year," he said prior to winning the featured Artie Schiller Stakes with Oak Bluff Stables' New York-bred Therapist Nov. 14 at Aqueduct Racetrack. "Overall, God bless, I'm Ok, but it's been a hard year for everyone. So, it makes sense to take the time off now and be ready for 2021. It's an easy surgery. They will clean out the hip and I will be good to go."

The surgery will be performed in New York by Dr. Bryan T. Kelly, whose clients include Lady Gaga and former New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez and who also works as a team physician for the New York Rangers, New York Giants, and New York Red Bulls.

"He's a well-known doctor and it's hard to get him," Castellano said. "He's always busy, but he called last week and said he had some time (next week), and I thought maybe it was meant to be."

Castellano said he has been putting off the surgery for a while and that the next two months offer the perfect time for the six to eight weeks of rehab that should have him back riding in time for the Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park. He added that having the surgery now, as opposed to a year or two in the future, will help to prolong his career, perhaps into the next decade.

"I knew at some point I had to give up something. Right now, we don't have a lot going on other than the (Cigar Mile Handicap, G1, Dec. 5 at Aqueduct). I was supposed to ride Vekoma  there, but he was retired," the four-time Eclipse Award winner (2013-16) said. "It's something I need to get done. I could have done it this year or next year or in three more years. But the longer I wait, it's not worth it. This will prevent it from becoming more of a problem in the future and I want to ride for another 10 years."

Castellano, who is scheduled to ride in six races on the Nov. 15 card at Aqueduct, has 106 wins this year with earnings of $12,289,800. 

The 2017 Hall of Famer is second in all-time earnings behind John Velazquez with $354.6 million and 25th in wins with 5,326.