Jockey Rajiv Maragh returns to Spa
N.Y. » Rajiv Maragh can rattle off the races he remembers from the 2014 Saratoga meet like they were yesterday.
“I had a lot of success that meet,” Maragh said on Friday. “I was riding Wicked Strong, Main Sequence... among other horses. Being second in the Travers was a heartbreaker. But also winning the Jim Dandy that year...It was a great meet, the last time I was here.”
The 2014 meet may have been at the top of his mind Friday as Maragh mounted a horse at Saratoga for the first time in three years. The time in between was filled with incredible physical pain and emotional toil that came with it. On July 10, 2015, Maragh had a spill riding Yourcreditisgood and was crushed. He was unable to move, and had broken eight vertebrae, per multiple reports.
It took 16 months for Maragh to return. He raced in the Kentucky Derby this year aboard Irish War Cry, and says he’s 100 percent healthy now. The incident is out of sight and out of mind. And now he’s back racing in the country’s premier meet for the first time since his near-death experience.
“It was frustrating and disappointing to not be able to do what I wanted to do,” Maragh said. “It was worrying at times, because I was in such bad health. It seemed like, sometimes, it was too much to overcome. Mentally and physically I was going through a lot. Thankfully, I’m healthy now and able to be here.”
The native of Jamaica has said in previous interviews that the pain was intolerable for long stretches of time. He would go through days without it subsiding.
He wasn’t able to pick up a win with three mounts on Opening Day at the Spa, but it was cool for him just to be there again.
“I’m past that,” Maragh said. “I’ve had a lot of time to recover my health and come back and I feel really good about my health. I don’t have any fears when I ride. It’s what I love to do and I really enjoy riding. I’m very thankful to do what I love to do.”
Dismounting his horse late in the afternoon on Friday, after the 10th and final race of the day, Maragh was covered in dirt from head to toe. The trainer found him and the two had a spirited discussion about the race, and Maragh took him through it.
Then the two split up and Maragh walked through the departing crowds toward the jockey room. A kid came raced up to Maragh and asked for his autograph. Maragh signed the program and kept walking. It’s all part of the Saratoga experience for a longtime jockey who has been robbed of that experience the past two summers.
“I almost had it all taken away from me,” Maragh said. “...It’s very exciting to be here. I’m happy and proud to be here. It’s a great atmosphere. I’m glad to be a part of it.”