Pedroza Back Exercising Horses After Fracturing Fibula

After suffering a hairline fracture of a fibula while loading into the starting gate before a race Jan. 19, jockey Marcelino Pedroza Jr. returned to the saddle Feb. 9 during morning training hours at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. He exercised a few horses and breezed the Patricia West-trained G's Million .

Marcelino! @jockeypedrozajr’s first morning back, working a horse from Patricia West’s barn, and according to his agent, John Herbstreit, he’s looking to be back in the saddle for next week’s races. Welcome back to Marcelino Pedroza Jr—so glad the fracture healed quickly! pic.twitter.com/eybLIyZaaD

— Fair Grounds (@fairgroundsnola) February 9, 2023

"Hopefully (we'll be riding for the same barns), it seems like we will," Pedroza's agent John Herbstreit said. "It was a tiny fracture, and there wasn't anything they could do about it but give it time to heal."

Pedroza has finished in the top 10 of the Fair Grounds' jockey standings seven times since first joining the colony in 2013-14. Over that time span, the native of Panama has won 328 races locally. Pedroza has captured three leading rider crowns at Horseshoe Indianapolis, previously known as Indiana Grand. 

"I'm hoping he's (riding) a few next week," Herbstreit said.

Pedroza is named on one horse Feb. 16: Nancy Vanier and Lyda Williamson's Hat Tip , trained by Brian Williamson. Hat Tip is an also-eligible and needs two scratches to draw in the turf allowance.

Pedroza rode O Besos  in the 2021 Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs, finishing fifth aboard the late-rallying Greg Foley trainee for owners Bernard Racing, Tagg Team Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Terry Stephens.