Horse Racing: Alan Garcia
As colorful and exciting as racing may be, there are times when it can turn dark and disturbing, with only a thin line separating life from death.
On a bitterly cold weekend at Aqueduct, the many dangers faced in every race by horse and rider were put on display through a harrowing pair of grotesque spills that claimed the life of two horses and sent three jockeys to the hospital.
Fortunately, none of the riders suffered serious injuries, but the next time anyone gets peeved at what they perceive to be an ill-advised ride, visions of what happened this weekend should put the challenges a jockey faces into a sharper perspective.
The first incident occurred in Saturday’s fourth race, when Scorper, while racing in about the four path, went down with jockey Alan Garcia. Quickly coming up behind them, Hardshell could not avoid Scorper, tripping over him and hurling jockey Junior Alvarado to the ground.
While Hardshell ran off after the spill, Scorper suffered a fractured left ankle and had to be put down.
Garcia and Alvarado were taken to North Shore University Hospital, where scans and x-rays came back negative. Alvarado managed to ride on Sunday’s card, while Garcia elected to sit out on Sunday and Monday with a sore back. He is tentatively scheduled to return Thursday.
The following day, after the field crossed the finish line in the ninth race, Raw Moon suffered a fatal heart attack and collapsed to the ground with jockey Ryan Curatolo.
Fundsalo Jones, ridden by Jackie Davis, crashed into the stricken Raw Moon, unseating Davis.
Curatolo was able to walk away from the spill, while Davis underwent x-rays and scans at North Shore that also came back negative.
Davis missed Monday’s card but she is also expected back Thursday.
"Her initial X-rays were negative, but she told the doctors she was still in pain, so they did a CT scan, and that was also negative,” said Davis' agent Roger Sutton. “She was hurting, but she’s tough.”
As sad as the two accidents were, there could have been an even worse catastrophe because of the size of the two fields. There were 10 horses in Saturday’s race and 11 in Sunday’s, creating the possibility for much larger spills.
On afternoons that cast a somber pall over a day at the races, that might be the lone silver lining.
On a bitterly cold weekend at Aqueduct, the many dangers faced in every race by horse and rider were put on display through a harrowing pair of grotesque spills that claimed the life of two horses and sent three jockeys to the hospital.
Fortunately, none of the riders suffered serious injuries, but the next time anyone gets peeved at what they perceive to be an ill-advised ride, visions of what happened this weekend should put the challenges a jockey faces into a sharper perspective.
The first incident occurred in Saturday’s fourth race, when Scorper, while racing in about the four path, went down with jockey Alan Garcia. Quickly coming up behind them, Hardshell could not avoid Scorper, tripping over him and hurling jockey Junior Alvarado to the ground.
While Hardshell ran off after the spill, Scorper suffered a fractured left ankle and had to be put down.
Garcia and Alvarado were taken to North Shore University Hospital, where scans and x-rays came back negative. Alvarado managed to ride on Sunday’s card, while Garcia elected to sit out on Sunday and Monday with a sore back. He is tentatively scheduled to return Thursday.
The following day, after the field crossed the finish line in the ninth race, Raw Moon suffered a fatal heart attack and collapsed to the ground with jockey Ryan Curatolo.
Fundsalo Jones, ridden by Jackie Davis, crashed into the stricken Raw Moon, unseating Davis.
Curatolo was able to walk away from the spill, while Davis underwent x-rays and scans at North Shore that also came back negative.
Davis missed Monday’s card but she is also expected back Thursday.
"Her initial X-rays were negative, but she told the doctors she was still in pain, so they did a CT scan, and that was also negative,” said Davis' agent Roger Sutton. “She was hurting, but she’s tough.”
As sad as the two accidents were, there could have been an even worse catastrophe because of the size of the two fields. There were 10 horses in Saturday’s race and 11 in Sunday’s, creating the possibility for much larger spills.
On afternoons that cast a somber pall over a day at the races, that might be the lone silver lining.
Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin confirmed Wednesday morning that Crossbow has suffered a small chip in his ankle and will be sidelined indefinitely.
Crossbow, who was scratched Saturday morning from the Grade 2 Hutcheson at Gulfstream Park, is in Lexington, Ky., where he will undergo surgery to remove the chip.
“We had scheduled a van to New York to go to the Gotham and Alan Garcia was going to take off all his mounts here next Saturday to go up to ride him,” said McLaughlin. “We trained him Saturday morning, however, and noticed a bit of pressure in his ankle when he came back. I got him out on the road, looked him over, and decided if we were going to send him to New York we better make sure he was oaky. We took X-rays and found a small chip. I just didn’t want to say anything at that point until we were able to inform all the necessary parties involved with the horse.”
Crossbow is owned by Darley Stable.
“We didn’t scratch him out of the Hutcheson because of the chip, he was scratched because of the post position,” said McLaughlin. “I wouldn’t say he is off the Derby trail because I don’t think he was ever really on it. He’s a nice horse, and he’ll be back, but is probably more of a sprinter. I’m not sure if we can do it, but if all goes well maybe we can make the King’s Bishop with him this summer at Saratoga.”
Crossbow, who was scratched Saturday morning from the Grade 2 Hutcheson at Gulfstream Park, is in Lexington, Ky., where he will undergo surgery to remove the chip.
“We had scheduled a van to New York to go to the Gotham and Alan Garcia was going to take off all his mounts here next Saturday to go up to ride him,” said McLaughlin. “We trained him Saturday morning, however, and noticed a bit of pressure in his ankle when he came back. I got him out on the road, looked him over, and decided if we were going to send him to New York we better make sure he was oaky. We took X-rays and found a small chip. I just didn’t want to say anything at that point until we were able to inform all the necessary parties involved with the horse.”
Crossbow is owned by Darley Stable.
“We didn’t scratch him out of the Hutcheson because of the chip, he was scratched because of the post position,” said McLaughlin. “I wouldn’t say he is off the Derby trail because I don’t think he was ever really on it. He’s a nice horse, and he’ll be back, but is probably more of a sprinter. I’m not sure if we can do it, but if all goes well maybe we can make the King’s Bishop with him this summer at Saratoga.”
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Bob Ehalt
Bob Ehalt, who grew up a few furlongs from Belmont Park, has followed horse racing as either a fan, turf writer or owner since 1971. He has won three national Associated Press Sports Editors awards for his coverage of the sport and was the recipient of the 2009 Breeders' Cup media award for outstanding social media.
Paul Moran
Paul Moran is a two-time winner of the Media Eclipse Award, and has received various honors from the National Association of Newspaper Editors, Society of Silurians, Long Island Press Club and Long Island Veterinary Medical Association. He also has been given the Red Smith Award for his coverage of the Kentucky Derby.