SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Victor Espinoza said he came to Saratoga about a month ago for a vacation. Now, the 53-year-old jockey said he is working as hard as ever in an attempt to revitalize his Hall of Fame career.
One call to trainer Wesley Ward and one visit to the Saratoga backstretch has reinvigorated Espinoza, who plans to ride the meet here this summer instead of Del Mar, where he has spent the last few decades.
“I feel like there are more opportunities on this circuit because there are many trainers,” Espinoza said. “I’d never been on the backside in Saratoga and this year I went there and went around the stables and it was amazing. There are many, many trainers here and they have a lot of horses and I was impressed. California, I feel if you don’t ride for three or four trainers who dominate everything, there’s not much to do.”
Due to the lack of opportunities in California, Espinoza has ridden sparingly in 2025, opting instead to take time off and travel. Espinoza had ridden just 26 horses this year before coming to Saratoga in mid-June.
Espinoza said he called Ward a few weeks ago to tell him he’d be in Saratoga for vacation. Ward was having none of that.
“Wesley was like, ‘What’s wrong with you? You need to go and ride,’” Espinoza said. “I said ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘It’s got to be like old times – come back strong and ride. You won everywhere, you won in Ascot for me, you got to come back and ride.’ I said, ‘You got to put me on good horses,’ and he said he would. He was kind to help me out.”
Espinoza was named on four horses for four different trainers on Thursday’s opening-day card of the traditional Saratoga meet. He has two mounts, both for Ward, on Saturday.
Espinoza, who has retained Jose Santos Jr. as his agent, has been getting on horses each morning in Saratoga.
“I think it’ll be fun for me and I’m excited to work hard and ride like before,” he said.
Having ridden 3,520 winners, Espinoza is best known as the rider of American Pharoah, whom he guided to the Triple Crown in 2015. Espinoza has won three Kentucky Derbies, three Preaknesses, and one Belmont Stakes.
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