Columbus track report

After a relatively quiet opening night last Thursday, a crowd of more than 2,800 on Friday night saw more than their share of action in an eventful evening of racing at Columbus.

Jockey Alex Granda was sent flying over the inner rail as the field turned into the backstretch in the first race of the night. His mount, West Meadowlake, ducked into the rail, and Granda leaped from the horse before the gelding slid several feet down the rail on his back. Granda was taken by ambulance to Columbus Community Hospital and was later released with a sore wrist and bruised ribs. He missed his mounts the remainder of the weekend and was to sit out Thursday's card, but was being named on horses for Friday.

Three races later, rider Dan Beck hit the track on the backstretch when his mount clipped the heels of another rival and dumped him. He returned to ride after sitting out a race, then won the Inaugural Stakes later that night aboard Pepper Lang.

Sally Muckey leaped to the top of the trainer standings with Pepper Lang's victory, the first career stakes win for both horse and trainer. She scored a pair of wins on opening night, and had three wins from five starters for the weekend.

Apprentice rider Tanner Riggs also scored a double on opening night, and the young rider from South Dakota has been a solid addition to the riding colony. His four wins on the weekend have him in a tie for third in the standings.

Riggs, R.D. Williams, and Yuri Yaranga accounted for all the wins on Sunday's eight-race card. Williams scored a four-bagger Sunday, including a sweep of the late daily double aboard Ten Cent Dance ($16.40) and Temptors Alibi ($6.20) for a $59.80 payoff. Yaranga scored a triple that included a $23 win aboard Lucky Dream in the sixth race. Riggs won the second aboard My Buba Boy at $20.60.