There is nothing quite like Opening Day in sports, an event typically filled with hope and optimism, and for six-time leading jockey Carol Cedeno the start of the 2026 Delaware Park meet May 13 proved especially meaningful.  

When Cedeno flashed past the finish line first aboard Vanaka in Race 2 in her first mount of the Delaware meeting, she earned her first win in more than 7 ½ months since a frightening spill Sept. 27, 2025, at the Meadowlands. Cedeno suffered five fractured vertebrae and a shattered left wrist among other injuries, and the pathway to recovery and a return to the winner’s circle at Delaware was long and incredibly difficult for the 37-year-old mother of Angelika, 17, and Dylan, 14.

“It was hard but I’ve got my family, I’ve got my mom and my sisters, so all my family helped me with everything — with the kids, with the recovery — they always were there for me,” said Cedeno, who moved from her native Puerto Rico to the mainland in 2007 to pursue a career as a professional rider. “My back, I don’t really feel much pain, but my wrist … it was hard.

“When I started going to the therapy, I was recovering fast but I got to one point where, I can grab a lot of things, but I don’t think I’m ready to get back to riding because it still hurts a lot. I get to that point and I just felt like I’m stuck there, and that cost me like seven months to get back to riding.”

Cedeno first tested her wrist in competition in a jockey challenge in Puerto Rico, riding three races on March 8. She was still feeling pain in the wrist but those races gave her the confidence to push on with the comeback, start exercising horses daily for trainers, and pick up some additional mounts this spring at Laurel Park and Parx Racing.

“Her comeback from the injury is consistent with the way she’s approached her entire career, and her life. She’s an amazing woman,” said Chris Sobocinski, racing information coordinator – racing development at Delaware Park. “She’s overcome a lot of challenges and adversity in life and on the track, and she’s accomplished incredible things despite all of that.”

Cedeno was cheered all the way to the winner’s circle by her biggest supporter, Matt Halter, the founder and president of the “Carol Cedeno Fan Club.” She and Matt had another reason to cheer four races later when Cedeno guided Irish Jig to an 8 ¼-length win in a six-furlong maiden special weight race for an emotional opening-day double.

After each win, Cedeno and the staff at Delaware Park welcomed Halter into the winner’s circle for the celebration and win photo, and it was clear he knew the way well. Cedeno’s nephew is autistic, as is Halter, and the two have formed a very tight bond.

“It’s my first win after eight months, so it feels extra special to have him here for me,” Cedeno said of celebrating with Halter after the first of two wins on opening day.

Halter and Cedeno share a moment in 2024 (Hoofprints, Inc.)

“I met him right here at Delaware a long time ago. He usually came on Saturdays and since then he’s always been my friend. He roots for me, he’s screaming every time I win a race, he texts me, and he always tells me I’m his best friend. We always try to have him come to the winner’s circle every time I win.”

Delaware Park has hosted an Autism Awareness Day at the racetrack the last three years organized by Bessie Gruwell, executive director of the Delaware Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. This year’s event is set for Aug. 1. Cedeno and Halter will be a big part of the day’s festivities that help raise money for Autism Delaware.

Cedeno has found a home at Delaware Park and left an indelible impression at the racetrack. She earned the first of her six leading rider titles at the Stanton, Del. track in 2014, joining Rosie Napravnik as the only women to lead the jockey standings at Delaware. Cedeno, who has amassed 1,350 wins through May 21, also led the jockey standings in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2020, when she joined Michael McCarthy with her record-equaling sixth title.

“She’s really an inspiration for me, and I think she’s an inspiration for a lot of fans that follow Delaware Park,” Sobocinski said. “She’s still a mom and she gets up and she works hard and she takes care of her kids, and as a parent myself who appreciates family and is dedicated to my profession, I have the utmost respect for her and everything she has achieved.”

Halter with Cedeno and family on Autism Day in 2025 (Hoofprints, Inc.)

Speaking of achievements, Cedeno broke a Delaware Park record held by six riders when she won seven races on a single card July 11, 2018. She swept the first four races on the 10-race card and secured her record-setting seventh win in the nightcap, an Arabian race, aboard Tiffanys Dream. Eldon Nelson (1958), George Cusimano (1968), Greg McCarron (1974), Jimmy Edwards (1984), McCarthy (1997 & 1998), and Joe Rocco Jr. (2011) shared the previous Delaware Park record of six wins in one day.

Cedeno is off to a terrific start to the 2026 Delaware Park meet. She won two more races on May 20 and had another double on May 21 to take an early lead in the rider standings with six wins and 14 top-three finishes from 21 starts. But those two wins on opening day, her first in more than 7 ½ months after fighting her way back to the saddle, were extra special.

“I felt grateful and happy because I had been working hard for that,” Cedeno said. “Once I started galloping [horses in the morning], I don’t really have a day off. I work seven days a week. I try to work for everybody because I want to do good, so I felt like I had to work double to try to get going, and winning those two races on opening day was a big thing.”