After a two-year hiatus which included a television stint for NYRA and FOX, Rajiv Maragh is set to get back into race riding Sunday at Gulfstream Park with two mounts on a 10-race program, the track announced via presser Saturday.
The winner of 1939 races is named on Gabagool (Ransom the Moon) in race five and Supers Lucky Lady (Superestrella) in race 10, and himself admits that the 2,000-win milestone was a motivating factor in his return along with the birth of his second child, daughter Lilah, who made her grand entrance Friday, Oct. 18.
“It's no secret that I've been away from the races a couple of years, extending myself outside our industry and into other businesses. I ended up on TV for NYRA and FOX, and I really enjoyed myself,” Maragh said.
“The thing about it is, racing with a young family and traveling have become a bit impractical. I've been doing a lot of traveling over the last couple years. I haven't been able to be home a lot of nights. With Lilah on the horizon, when I was at Saratoga, my wife and I tried to take a realistic view of what we want in life. The No. 1 thing is we want to come home together as a family. Our main residence is here in South Florida, and that's how riding came back on the table.”
Maragh, who says he never 'fully retired' and has been getting on horses for the past three weeks in preparation for his return, also added, “Two and a half years and not being on horses, it takes a while to get back into the full swing of it. I want to gradually work my way into it, so that when we hit next month in November [the upcoming Championship Meet at Gulfstream], I'm in full swing.”
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