Tony Matos | Horse Racing Free Tips

Maldonado Expected To Miss 2-3 Weeks Via Injury

Jockey Edwin Maldonado sustained a shoulder injury during training hours on Saturday and is expected to be out for the next two to three weeks, his agent Tony Matos told the Santa Anita notes team.

Maldonado, 41, was injured when he was unseated from his mount on the track. He was sent to a local hospital to be assessed and was later released.

“We have an appointment tomorrow and will know more then. But right now it sounds like it will be about two to three weeks,” Matos said.

Through Friday's action, Maldonado had recorded six victories from 15 rides thus far during the Classic Meet at Santa Anita. He is the regular rider of Spendthrift Farm's Ruby Nell (Bolt d'Oro), who he has piloted to wins in the Unzip Me S. back in October and the Dec. 31 Lady of Shamrock S.

Maldonado has been riding professionally since 2002. He has won 1,544 races while banking more than $53.7 million in purse earnings according to Equibase statistics. Maldonado was scheduled on four mounts for Sunday's nine-race card.

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Desormeaux Back ‘In The Old Zone,’ Agent Says

Tony Matos has been a jockey agent for most of his 77 years. He's been the representative for the winning riders in the Kentucky Derby on six occasions – Angel Cordero (Cannonade, 1974 and Bold Forbes, 1976), Laffit Pincay (Swale, 1984), Kent Desormeaux (Real Quiet, 1998 and Fusaichi Pegasus, 2000), and Victor Espinoza (War Emblem, 2002).

And Matos has this to say about Desormeaux, with whom he was reunited earlier this year: “He's riding just as well, maybe better, than he was when I had him and he won the two Kentucky Derbies.”

When athletes are having great success, the phrase “In the zone” is often applied. Desormeaux, 51, has won eight races in five days the most recent being the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby. He's “In the old zone” – in terms of age and with the same skill he displayed decades earlier en route to the Hall of Fame.

“Even though he's 51, he works out and keeps himself fit,” Matos said. “When I took him back (from a suspension incurred here last year), I could see that his attitude was good and he's just kept getting better.”

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Together Again: Kent Desormeaux Teams Up With Agent Tony Matos

Two Kentucky Derby wins and two decades later, Kent Desormeaux and Tony Matos are together again.

The Hall of Fame jockey, who turns 51 on Saturday, and the veteran agent, still prevalent and positive at 76, are business buddies for the first time since 2000, when they won the Kentucky Derby on Fusaichi Pegasus for trainer Neil Drysdale.

“Kent asked me to work for him and I'm very happy to get together again,” said Matos, who has won the Run for the Roses six times, with Angel Cordero Jr. twice (Cannonade in 1974 and Bold Forbes in 1976); Laffit Pincay Jr. (Swale, 1984); Desormeaux (Real Quiet 1998 and Fusaichi Pegasus); and Victor Espinoza (War Emblem 2002).

Cordero, Pincay, Desormeaux and Espinoza are members of the Hall of Fame, as are two other former Matos clients, the late Garrett Gomez and Gary Stevens.

Matos has represented Edwin Maldonado for a year come May and will continue to do so with Desormeaux now on board.

“Kent has three Kentucky Derby wins (Big Brown in 2008 in addition to Real Quiet and Fusaichi Pegasus), so maybe each one of us can add one more to our resumes,” Matos said. “We did well together in the past. It's been a good relationship and we remain good friends.

“I'm really looking forward to representing him and Maldonado. Kent is working horses in the morning and focused on getting his business back together.”

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Jockey J.C. Diaz Jr. Tests Positive For Coronavirus; Will Miss Part Of Del Mar Meet

Jockey Jean (J.C.) Diaz, Jr. has tested positive for the coronavirus but is asymptomatic and began self isolation at his Los Angeles area apartment Friday.

As part of Del Mar's protocols and procedures for dealing with the pandemic, all jockeys' room riders and personnel were tested in San Diego this week on either Wednesday or Thursday at Scripps Hospital in La Jolla. Before he came on site at Del Mar, Diaz was notified Friday morning that his test of a day earlier had been positive for the virus.

If Diaz remains asymptomatic – that is showing no signs of the virus – by the end of the isolation period, he could return to riding on Friday, November 13. Diaz, a 20-year-old native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, will miss the first two weekends of the Bing Crosby meeting.

“I take my hat off to Del Mar and all the people involved,” said Tony Matos, Diaz's agent. Matos has been booking mounts for riders since 1966 and lists Hall of Famers Angel Cordero and Laffit Pincay, Jr. among his former clients.

“Just like at Santa Anita, Del Mar is doing a great job with testing and procedures,” Matos said. “We all want to follow the rules and do whatever we can to keep everyone as safe as possible.”

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