Escobar sidelined for extended period

Jockey Martin Escobar will be sidelined for four to six weeks after being thrown from his mount during the ninth race last Saturday night at Remington Park.

Escobar was aboard Cuvee Blanc, who set the pace, finished second, then fell after the wire. Escobar broke a bone in the wrist area of his right hand and sustained a small fracture in the back of his right shoulder, according to his agent, Kevin Johnson.

"He might make it back for the last couple of weeks of the meet," Johnson said.

Otherwise, Johnson said Escobar would return to action at the Oaklawn Park meet that opens in January.

Johnson said it appeared Cuvee Blanc simply slipped and fell. He said she jogged back after the incident. Escobar teams on a regular basis with high-percentage trainer Allen Milligan. He ranked among the leading riders at Oaklawn and Lone Star earlier this year, and is 12th in the current standings at Remington.

* Deal a King, who was second by a half-length in the second race last Sunday at Remington, set a track record for a place payoff when he returned $203.60 on a $2 bet. The previous place mark of $145.40 was set by Mr. Ross Is Boss on Sept. 8, 1998.