John Velazquez injured in CD spill

[Glimmerglass]

An ugly breakdown after what had been two excellent graded races this evening at Churchill under the lights. The DRF has the story & replay - extreme caution to be exercised

Mr. Producer was euthanized. Smart Fada appears to be ok as is Lemansky

John Velazquez was the most seriously hurt of the jockeys in the ninth race. His mount, Mr. Producer, broke down badly near the sixteenth pole in pursuit of the winner, Lockout, and Velazquez, thrown hard to the dirt surface, appeared to be struck by a trailing horse, Lemansky, a few seconds later.

After a few terrifying moments, Velazquez got to his own feet, then was strapped to a stretcher. Churchill officials reported about 30 minutes later that the New York-based jockey was conscious and being transported to nearby Audubon Hospital and that he was complaining of shoulder pain.

24,577 was in attendance

Per the most recent tweet this eve

Recapping R9 spill: JVelazquez to local hosp. with possible shoulder/collarbone injury; McKee sore but otherwise OK; M.Cruz uninjured

[skydy]

Oh dear, that was horrible.

[CVPeg]

Oh, no. Bloodhorse says he broke his collarbone.
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/70625/jockey-velazquez-breaks-collarbone-in-spill

What a week for JR. Highs & lows. Couldn’t watch the replay after reading the description.

[Lauruffian]

Poor Mr.Producer. Heal quickly and well, JV.

What bothers me–and racing in general does this–is the track announcer barely even acknowledges “the incident.” During the call, he does mention that Mr. P goes down, but afterwards–with all that gruesome drama right in front of the stands–there’s nothing beyond “Hold all tickets; there is an inquiry and the stewards are looking into the incident at the 8th pole as well as the entire race.”

The crowd, the public, needs comforting and information in these situations. A little heart would be good too; even a simple “Godspeed, Mr. Producer” and a “JV is up walking on his own” would be good. I don’t think it’s this particular announcer–it seems ALL announcers are trained only to concern themselves with the race and its results.

I grew up in a racing family (Indy and sprint car, heh, not horses), and whenever there was a crash the announcer made it his job to comfort the stressed crowd. (Thankfully, I was never there for a fatal crash.) IMO TB racing needs to learn from this.

Acknowledge what happened and show some heart.

[FalseImpression]

Totally agree with Lauruffian.
I watched the replay and was upset they did not mention anything at all about the jockeys or the horses.
Again, pretending everything is all fun and roses??? Oh, you don’t want to upset the spectators at home… but the people at the track?
Shame…
Godspeed Mr. Producer and prompt recovery to JV.

[Glimmerglass]

From this morning (11 am). JV will likely be discharged today but then go to a doctor in New York - if he can travel:

The seriousness of the injuries is not known, although typically a collarbone injury requires four to six weeks before a jockey can return to action, barring other complications. Cordero said Velazquez urinated blood Sunday morning and thus arose the possibility of damage to a kidney.

“So sad for Mr. Producer,” Motion tweeted late Saturday night. Churchill reported that the other two horses involved in the incident were not seriously injured.

This is the second time Velazquez has sustained an injury to the same area of his body in a spill at a Kentucky track. In April 2006… [Velazquez] missed the Triple Crown events that spring when out several months with a broken right shoulder, a bruised sternum, and two cracked ribs.

As for the on-track announcer, Mark Johnson, giving updates beyond the initial call he isn’t going to know (nor should speculate) on what he can see. The race didn’t go official for some time and his mic typically would be turned off from the streaming fee. Maybe onsite they received add’l info by switching the PA system on exclusively.

I’ve never been at race (even marred by a breakdown) where the decision to destroy is announced over the public address system. The feed on the DRF lasts for 10-min and JV wasn’t removed for almost 30-minutes according to the one account. I know everyone wants to get live-up-to-the-minute info but the situation doesn’t always lend itself to that.

[Justa_Bob]

[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;6382317]

I’ve never been at race (even marred by a breakdown) where the decision to destroy is announced over the public address system. The feed on the DRF lasts for 10-min and JV wasn’t removed for almost 30-minutes according to the one account. I know everyone wants to get live-up-to-the-minute info but the situation doesn’t always lend itself to that.[/QUOTE]

I think what is most problematic is that the silence hides reality. Although the details may not be known, at least the reality should be announced.

Otherwise, it hides and sugarcoats for the public – esp the bettors – that a horse and jockey are down.

And the owners, trainers, track owners can continue to enjoy profits while the horses break down more and more and the jockeys’ lives are more and more endangered.

Silence condones and hides. And the public can ignore instead of living and experiencing the reality of racing.

It’s a bit weird, in so many other sports the violence, danger and even death are exploited to sell tickets and to replay endlessly in the media. But when the reality is so much more brutal – horses and jockeys maimed and killed – all that violence and death is SILENCED. Talk about twisted! There is no need to glorify or exploit this reality - but some respect and acknowledgment is more responsible then ignoring it so the humans can feel better about racing and themselves.

And for those who have been injured or died – it is disrespectful to ignore their lives lost – showing no acknowledgment that they even existed or gave up their lives – albeit a brief 3-7 years for the TBs. That shows a nasty spirit putting profits above dignity.