Jockey Junior Alvarado,
convincingly in front in the Arlington jockey standings when he broke his
collarbone in a Friday spill, came to the races Saturday with his arm in a
sling but a ready smile on his face.
“It’s okay,” said Alvarado
when offered condolences in the tunnel by trainer Gerard Butler after
Pachattack won the Matron. “These things happen. I’ll be back as
soon as I can. I feel fine. I’m not in a lot of pain.”
Alvarado, who celebrated his
25th birthday one week before Friday’s spill, is a native of Barquisimeto,
Venezuela,
who was Arlington’s
jockey champion in 2009 and runner-up in the standings last summer.