Apprentice jockey Wilmer Garcia will be off his mounts for an undetermined amount of time to recover from injuries sustained in a Jan. 2 car accident, his agent Jose Henriques said.
The rider, who will turn 21 on Jan. 8, was driving from New York to Penn National Race Course, where he was scheduled to ride Wiseman's Jet in the fifth race Jan. 3 for trainer Osvaldo Rojas. Wiseman's Jet was scratched from the scheduled start.
Garcia's car rolled and crashed because of a blown-out tire on Interstate 78 around Lebanon, Pa., Henriques said Jan. 3.
"He's okay," the agent said. "They took him to the hospital and did some x-rays; it looks like he has some kind of hairline fracture up by the neck. He's wearing a neck brace but he's up talking and walking. We don't know when he's going to be back. I'd say a month or so, but he'll be out until he recovers completely."
Garcia began riding at the end of 2011 but had his first full season in 2012. He has 68 wins from 923 starts, with 104 seconds and 100 thirds for earnings of $3,235,344. He was named on 14 mounts on the Jan. 4, 5, and 6 cards at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Henriques said he will represent apprentice Guillermo Rodriguez at Aqueduct while Garcia recovers.