Jockey Kyle Kaenel retires from riding

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP)—Jockey Kyle Kaenel has retired because of extensive injuries the 21-year-old rider sustained in an accident.

Kaenel said Sunday that he was quitting after five years because he broke his right collarbone and shoulder blade and pinched a nerve in his back in a spill at Fairplex Park in Pomona on Sept. 27.

“It was a fun career, and I will miss it terribly,” he said.

Kaenel is the son of former jockey “Cowboy” Jack Kaenel, who became the youngest rider to win a Triple Crown race when he rode Aloma’s Ruler at age 16 in the 1982 Preakness Stakes.

“I already broke my neck and back in two places, and each time doctors have told me that’s it, as far as riding is concerned,” the younger Kaenel said. “I’ve got a family now, so I feel lucky if I can walk away from this one. It wouldn’t be fair to them for me to ask them to push me around in a wheelchair.”