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DEL MAR, Calif. -- Jockey Victor Espinoza was injured when the horse he was riding at Del Mar racetrack collapsed during training and died. Racetrack officials say Bobby Abu Dhabi suffered an apparent fatal heart attack during a workout Sunday morning. Espinoza was thrown off the horse, then lay motionless for several minutes before being fitted with a neck brace and taken by ambulance to a hospital. Agent Brian Beach said the 46-year-old Hall of Fame jockey suffered a fractured vertebra in his neck and a stinger to the left shoulder and arm. He said Espinoza will remain in the hospital overnight, but doctors expect a full recovery. Beach said Espinoza, who guided American Pharoah to the Triple Crown in 2015, suffered no paralysis or other broken bones. "It's all good for now. It looks like we dodged a bullet," Beach said in a statement to Del Mar track officials. "He has regained about 50 percent of the feeling already. Doctors are optimistic he'll fully recover fairly quickly." Four-year-old Bobby Abu Dhabi was training for the Bing Crosby Stakes next Saturday. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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