Aqueduct: Maragh will miss two weeks after spill

Barbara D. Livingston

Rajiv Maragh was injured in a spill Monday at Aqueduct.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Jockey Rajiv Maragh will be out a minimum of two weeks due to injuries suffered in a spill at Aqueduct on Monday.

According to agent Matt Muzikar, Maragh was diagnosed with a slight fracture of his T-3 vertebrae which is behind the rib cage and up around the shoulder blades. While he was released from North Shore University Hospital on Tuesday afternoon, doctors would not clear him to ride when racing resumes at Aqueduct on Friday.

“They want to re-evaluate him in two weeks,” Muzikar said.

Maragh was aboard Lady of Gold, who finished fourth behind Squeal in Monday’s second race, a maiden event for 2-year-old fillies.
After the wire, Squeal fell. Lady of Gold jumped over Squeal, and in the process unseated Maragh, who landed hard on the ground. Maragh was transported by ambulance to North Shore and was kept overnight for observation. An MRI revealed the fracture.

Maragh, 27, won 141 races from 1,222 mounts in 2012 and ranked 14th in purse earnings nationally with $10,002,719.  He won two Breeders’ Cup races including the Filly and Mare Sprint aboard Groupie Doll. He was off to a 10-for-50 start at Aqueduct’s inner track meet.

Lady of Gold, meanwhile, was reported by trainer Phil Serpe to have escaped the incident without a scratch.

Squeal, however, underwent surgery Tuesday at New Bolton to repair significant muscle tissue damage to the chest cavity, according to Neil Poznansky, the New York-based assistant to trainer Bill Mott.

“They did surgery on her, they stitched her up, [the] prognosis is she’ll be back in training in six months,” Poznansky said. “They were very happy with the way the surgery went, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed.”