It was hardly the Christmas season that jockey Martin Garcia envisioned.
A year ago, as the Hollywood Park fall meeting ended and the Santa
Anita winter-spring meeting approached, Garcia was about 2,000 miles to
the southeast, in his hometown of Veracruz, Mexico, stuck in immigration
limbo and visiting relatives.
“I kept thinking, I’ll be back,” he said. “I didn’t want to stress
myself. They told me it would be no problem, but that I had to wait.”
Hollywood Park closed, and opening day at Santa Anita came and went
without Garcia’s presence. Garcia’s work visa had expired in late 2010
and he was forced to return to Mexico to reapply. He did not regain his
working visa and return to California until late January, nearly a month
after Santa Anita started. Essentially, Garcia had to start over, with
the benefit of a successful 2010 behind him.
Read More