Two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey John Velazquez remained hospitalized Thursday evening (April 20) following a nasty spill in Keeneland’s feature race, the Forerunner Stakes. The incident occurred when Velazquez’s mount, Up an Octave, broke down and fell less than a sixteenth of a mile after winning the $110,600 turf event for 3-year-olds.


At the hospital, Velazquez was “conscious and talking well,” according to his agent, Angel Cordero Jr. While Cordero said physicians were concerned over a possible broken shoulder, they were running a series of tests and waiting for a specialist to review the X rays.


“He’s in good condition, he’s stable, facing nothing really dangerous,” Cordero said. “We won’t know anything else until tomorrow when the doctors look at everything.”


Up an Octave was galloping out after the finish of the 1 3/16 mile race when he suffered a compound fracture and fell, flipping over on top of Velazquez, who was thrown forward. The 34-year-old jockey was transported to the track’s first aid center via stretcher. After an initial examination by track physician Dr. Barry Schumer, he was taken to the University of Kentucky Hospital for further testing

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